Shared Public Comment for Community Awareness

Good evening Mayor and Trustees,

I’m speaking tonight as President of Pittsford CommUNITY, a local non-profit. We had obtained a permit to place ribbons on the lamp post from March 29-April 4 for Trans day of visibility. Unfortunately these ribbons placed in support of our transgender community were removed illegally, and a police report had to be filed. That should concern every one of us.

This is about more than ribbons. It is about what kind of community we choose to be.

When symbols of support are torn down, the message sent is not just to one group, it is heard by every resident who has ever wondered if they truly belong here. It tells people that acceptance is fragile, that visibility can be targeted, and that some neighbors are still being told to make themselves smaller.

That is deeply disappointing.

We often speak proudly about being a welcoming village, inclusive village, a place where everyone matters. But belonging is not measured by slogans or statements. It is measured by how we respond when people are targeted, when acts of intimidation occur, and when vulnerable neighbors are made to feel unsafe.

Belonging means knowing you can exist openly without fear.
Belonging means seeing your community stand up for you when harm is done.
Belonging means that hate, however small it may seem, is never normalized.

So tonight, I ask this Board to speak clearly: that removing these ribbons was wrong, that our transgender neighbors are valued here, and that this village will not be silent when exclusion shows itself.

Because if we cannot protect something as simple as ribbons of support, then we must ask ourselves what else we are failing to protect.

Our residents deserve better. Our transgender neighbors deserve better. And this village can be better.

Thank You,

President Pittsford CommUNITY

April 14, 2026