Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday that the East River State Park in Brooklyn will be renamed after activist Marsha P. Johnson. 

Johnson, a transgender woman of color, was a pioneer of the LGBTQ rights movement and a prominent figure in the Stonewall uprising.

This will be the first state park named after an LGBTQ person.

Gov. Cuomo made the announcement at the Human Rights Campaign Greater New York Gala. At the event, he also proposed changing laws surrounding surrogacy in the state, saying he wants New York to be a leading champion in the nation for the LGBTQ community. 

"It's about making progress. It's about showing the rest of the nation the way forward,” said Gov. Cuomo. “And that is what we have been doing in New York and what we are going to continue to do, working together with HRC."

While he acknowledged many victories, the governor also said the number of assaults on human rights has gone up with dozens of anti-Semitic attacks. 

Gov. Cuomo said attacks based on a person's skin color, religion, nationality and sexual orientation are higher than they have ever been and more work still needs to be done.