On World AIDS Day, dozens gathered in the cold at the New York City AIDS Memorial in Greenwich Village, listening as names of the dead filled the park.

What You Need To Know

For the fourth-straight year, HIV cases in the city rose or remained flat

Nearly 1,800 New Yorkers were newly diagnosed last year, a 5.4% increase compared to 2023, according to a report

Along with the potential federal cuts, 2025 marks the first year the federal government will not commemorate World AIDS Day since 1988

For Valerie Jimenez Reyes, who has attended the vigil for decades, reading the names brings her back to a moment she’s never forgotten.

“In 1989, when they told me I was positive, they also said, ‘Get your things together because you’re not going to watch your son turn 2 [years old],’” Jimenez Reyes said.

Instead, her son Joseph Jimenez is turning 38.

“It means the world to me that my mom is still here,” Jimenez said.

For organizers, the day is about the people who survived and the thousands who didn’t.

“World AIDS Day isn’t just a commemorative day. It’s a call to action,” Dave Harper, executive director of New York City AIDS Memorial, said.

And this year, that call feels more urgent.

For the fourth-straight year, HIV cases in the city rose or remained flat, according to a report.

“The numbers that we released is a concerning trend,” Acting Health Commissioner Michelle Morse said.

According to a report, nearly 1,800 New Yorkers were newly diagnosed last year, a 5.4% increase compared to 2023, hitting hardest in Black and Latino communities and in neighborhoods struggling with poverty and unstable housing.

“No one reason accounts for the entire story,” Morse said.

At a time when infections are climbing, federal proposals would eliminate HIV prevention funding — more than $41 million the city uses for testing, treatment and support.

“We’re seeing extremely concerning and perhaps deadly signals and policies from the federal government,” Morse said.

For Jimenez Reyes, these aren’t just statistics.

“What really keeps me here and coming back is that I’m still on this side of the memorial and not on that side of the memorial,” Jimenez Reyes said.

For her son, his mother’s strength is the reason he’s here too.

“It means so much to me that she is still here, but it means even more that she is helping others. And that’s my hero. My mom,” Jimenez said.

Along with the potential federal cuts, 2025 marks the first year the federal government will not commemorate World AIDS Day since 1988.