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Despite scandals, clergy say Eric Adams’ faith partnerships revitalized NYC aid services

Austin Tang — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 16:15:09 +0000

NEW YORK (RNS) — Adams’ legacy among faith communities is marked by an unprecedented partnership that brought congregations to the front lines of city governance in ways no modern mayor had before.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, center, attends the Church of Pentecost USA Inc., Dec. 22, 2024, in the Bronx. (Photo courtesy of the Mayoral Photography Office)

By Fiona Murphy

October 7, 2025

NEW YORK (RNS) — As New York City Mayor Eric Adams prepares to leave office this fall, after suspending his reelection bid amid outcry over a scandal-ridden mayorship, he leaves behind a new network of faith leaders mobilized by his crisis initiatives and concerned those partnerships will falter under a new administration.

Adams, who was indicted in 2024 on federal charges of wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy tied to campaign fundraising, decided not to run in the Democratic primary in June, choosing to run in the general election as an independent candidate instead. But faced with the popular Democratic candidate, Zohran Mamdani, and the familiar face of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Adams announced on Sept. 28 that he would not seek reelection, after a Quinnipiac poll showed his approval rating was among the lowest for a New York City mayor in recent decades.

Despite his unpopularity with many New Yorkers, Adams’ legacy among faith communities is marked by an unprecedented partnership that brought small and often overlooked congregations to the front lines of city governance in ways no modern mayor had before.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, center right, meets with Jewish community leaders and walks through local businesses in Borough Park ahead of the upcoming Jewish High Holidays on Sept. 15, 2025. (Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

“I think we were looking to make sure that the faith-based community had direct access to New York City resources,” Monrose said. “Adams wanted to make sure that the faith community is consistently on his radar, that he would be in touch with them, and our office would continue to maintain relationships.”

Monrose turned that mission into a sustained network of outreach. Through the OFBCP, members of different faith communities across New York’s five boroughs were invited to monthly meetings with city commissioners to discuss services such as food pantries, clothing drives and issues that affected their small congregations. Monrose manages a WhatsApp group with hundreds of contacts he’s gathered over his years as a pastor in Brooklyn, along with an email list that sends out announcements several times a week about upcoming events sponsored by his office.

“There are some rooms that I have been in that I would never have been in if it wasn’t for Eric Adams,” said Latricia Davis, the outreach ministry pastor at the Community Church of Christ in Jamaica, Queens. “The emails, the texts and the response from his office was unbelievable. I’m getting emotional about it because he cared about us.”

The office’s work evolved into citywide initiatives. In 2023, it launched the faith-based shelter program, mobilizing churches, mosques and synagogues to house asylum-seekers during the city’s migrant crisis by providing renovations and resources to congregations citywide.

“Mayor Adams was willing to work with congregations as a way of addressing social safety net needs in the city that has been so far unique,” said Peter Gudaitis, executive director of New York Disaster Interfaith Services, or NYDIS, a nonprofit that has provided disaster relief and faith-community recovery services that worked closely with the OFBCP to coordinate and activate the faith-based shelter program.

Muslims and non-Muslim migrants eat their meals together during an iftar, the sunset meal when Muslims break their fast in the holy month of Ramadan, at the migrant shelter on Randall’s Island, on April 9, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

In June 2023, as thousands of migrants arrived in New York City, the city’s homeless shelters and hotel voucher program were overwhelmed. With asylum-seekers lining the streets and criticism mounting over the city’s slow response, Adams, through the OFBCP, began turning to houses of worship for help.

Joseph Clemmons, pastor of the Historic First Church of God in Christ in Brooklyn, had his church transformed. Funding from the city supported NYDIS in helping construct renovations, including the installation of six showers, and round-the-clock volunteers to house 40 to 50 migrants per night. Clemmons’ congregation did this from April 2024 to June of this year.

“That was Mayor Adams’ way of saying, I trust churches more than I do developers to do what’s right and to care,” Clemmons said. “I’ll never forget that.”

Over the span of two years, the program sheltered nearly 200,000 people in 21 houses of worship, relying on more than 300 volunteers who contributed thousands of hours of work. For many faith communities, the program was viewed as the city affirming their moral mission.

“Those people needed real help, and this is part of our faith,” said Muhammad Shahidullah, imam and director of the nonprofit Dawah USA, which served as a “waiting center” for asylum-seekers, hosting guests for short stays in the evenings from December 2023 to May 2024. Beyond housing, Shahidullah said Adams will also be remembered in the Muslim community for expanding visibility and inclusion.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during an interfaith breakfast event in New York, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

“He started the Friday Muslim prayer in the City Hall,” Shahidullah said, in reference to Adams’ office embrace of the adhan, or the Muslim call to prayer, across the city. “This was the first time in history that we were given permission, under his leadership. Also, the halal food is provided in public schools. This process started a long time ago, but in this term, they actually executed it,” Shahidullah said.

In December 2022, Adams formally expanded halal food access in schools citywide as part of his “Cafeteria Enhancement Experience” initiative. The faith-based shelter program has since paused, Monrose said, as the flow of new migrants slowed.

Since last winter, Adams’ rhetoric on immigration has become more critical, increasingly aligning with President Donald Trump’s hard-line anti-immigration stance. Some New Yorkers questioned whether Adams’ alignment with Trump’s policies was an attempt to secure a pardon on his federal corruption charges — charges that were ultimately dismissed after the Trump administration pressured the Justice Department. Adams has denied any connection between his policy positions and the case’s outcome.

“I do wish Mayor Adams had been able to stand up more strongly to the Trump administration on these issues,” Gudaitis said. “But it’s hard. I mean, could you imagine what New York City would be like if ICE was doing here, what they’re doing in D.C. and Chicago? I mean, it really worries me.”

While Adams’ evolving immigration stance divided voters, faith leaders say his legacy will be defined less by politics and more by partnership, especially his efforts to bring clergy into the city’s work on public safety.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, center, attends midnight Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dec. 25, 2024, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (Photo courtesy of the Mayoral Photography Office)

One of the last major initiatives Adams will be remembered for is the Citywide Clergy Collective, launched in January 2024 with a $1.5 million city grant and agency partners including the New York Police Department. The program trains clergy to intervene after shootings, mediating tensions, supporting families and organizing funerals and vigils, while doing ongoing “triage” to prevent violent retaliation within communities.

Since joining the initiative, Bishop Chantel Wright, pastor of Reach Covenant Ministries International, a church-led community organization in Harlem, a neighborhood with one of the highest rates of gun violence in the city, her community has seen real change.

“What has happened for us is that there have been no killings,” she said. “Now, the older ladies in our community, they feel safe at night. They’re able to walk out and be in the community without ducking stray bullets.”

The last time her group assisted a family after a murder was last spring. Through the collective, Wright helped relocate the victim’s family, paying for transportation and funeral costs.

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The collective’s model has since been adopted beyond New York. Monrose has held conferences about the program in Pittsburgh and helped establish an office of violence prevention in his hometown in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has also trained pastors in St. Lucia and in Belize. In New York, the collective’s funding has covered meals for bereaved families and clergy-run after-school programs to keep youth engaged.

“I just pray that the seed has been placed in the ground through the faith-based community,” Wright said. “I pray that whoever comes into office has enough wisdom not to dismantle it. It’s their secret weapon.”

Looking ahead, Monrose said he sees Adams’ legacy with faith communities as just the beginning. “I have never read a good book with only one chapter,” Monrose said. “I’m glad that I have the opportunity to be able to be a trendsetter when it comes to how cities and government work with clergy.”

Some faith leaders remain uncertain about the next batch of candidates. “The current candidates, I don’t work with them,” said Michelle Davis Levy, who goes by Rev. Zoya, from the Illuminating Center of God in Brooklyn. “I haven’t seen them in my neighborhood, and that’s an important point for me, to be forward facing a candidate, to be forward facing with the community they’re going to serve.”

Mamdani, a progressive Muslim and current state assemblyman, and Cuomo, running as an independent, have begun courting faith leaders in different ways. On Oct. 1, Mamdani’s campaign announced it will be backed by Defend and Advance, a new Muslim American super PAC, which has launched a five-week effort to mobilize the city’s nearly 388,000 registered Muslim voters ahead of the election. The Mamdani and Cuomo campaigns did not respond to request for comment.

Still, some clergy say they remain hopeful that the network Adams built will outlast his time in office.

“We made this coalition of faith-based organizations and community organizations, and we’re in partnership, and I don’t believe that’s going to go away just because Adams is no longer going to be our mayor,” Davis said. “I believe that they will continue to prosper and bear good fruit, no matter what.”

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Reminder: It’s the 100 Day Countdown the Peace Day!

Austin Tang — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 16:29:15 +0000

un.org/peaceday

About this year’s International Day of Peace…

In a time of turbulence, tumult, and uncertainty, it is critical for everyone to take concrete action to mobilize for peace.

From peacekeepers on the front lines of conflict, to community members, to students in classrooms around the world, everyone has a role to play. We must speak up against violence, hate, discrimination, and inequality; practice respect;

and embrace the diversity of our world.

There are many ways to act right now. Spark conversations about the urgent need for understanding, non-violence, and disarmament. Volunteer in your community, listen to voices different from your own, challenge discriminatory language in your workplace, report bullying both online and off-line, and take the time to verify facts before you post on social media.

LEARN MORE

Peace Day Philly is the Philadelphia region initiative for the International Day of Peace. Questions or Ideas about getting involved?

Please get in touch with us by email.

What can YOU do for the International Day of Peace?

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On the eve of the new year 2021, MXQ LifeWater donated money to emergency workers and their families in New York.

Austin Tang — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 15:29:27 +0000

Around the world, people said farewell to 2021 and welcomed the new year. American senior managers of MXQ LifeWater, a new beverage invested and developed by famous Chinese entrepreneur Dr. Ma Xiaoqiu, was invited to participate in the international police and veterans charity fund held in Flushing, New York. The fund was held to commend and support brave law enforcement personnel, veterans and all front-line first aid workers. Scholarships were provided for their children and support for their widows and families.

Prince Olympia Gellini (assistant of MXQ CEO Robert Davidson and the founder of Family Film Awards) was among several members of the MXQ LifeWater family that attended. Keeping in mind the 560,000 new epidemic infections in the United States alone on that day; all of the 400 invited guests followed New York law concerning COVID.

Condolences and new year’s greetings were bestowed upon the commended first responders and their families. The NYPD band played music throughout the whole event bringing loving joy to the new year.

Guests attending the party included: Christine Warnke, director of the Protocol Department of government in the District of Columbia, Michael Leung, chairman of IPVF charity foundation, Jim Sherlock, President of reborn group and chief representative of United Nations media, Mr Jude Ellie, candidate for president of Haiti, and many others.

MXQ LifeWater was the most popular gift of the night. This special product is a drink that drives energy directly into the cells. It is the latest investment developed by Ma Xiaoqiu based on the science and technology of nanoparticle powder successfully developed by Dr. Jerry Thornthwaite (director of the Cancer Research Institute of West Tennessee). The biotechnology of LifeWater makes nano component fat balls with a diameter of less than 500 times of hair. This wraps the effective components in the beverage so that they are not damaged by gastric acid and other substances in the human digestive system, avoiding the loss of important nutrients in the components. At the same time, because the diameter of nano component fat cells is less than one thousandth of the diameter of human red blood cells, nano component fat cells can directly enter cells through human tissues. The outer fat micelles decompose in the blood to release effective components for direct absorption by the human body.

Research has proved that the absorption of nutrients contained in nano fat balls is 80-90%, while the absorption capacity of other drinks is 25-40%. The main components of MXQ LifeWater are ginger, turmeric, Siberian ginseng and vitamin C. The products are produced by laboratories and factories that meet the highest requirements of the FDA. LifeWater has just passed the market test after three months and will be put on the market in January.

One major customer in the United States, “3F American Obesity Health Club”, asked for 600,000 bottles. The first 200,000 bottles will be signed at the end of January. They call the product “the product of good human nature”. The epidemic has many looking for prevention in the form of raw foods and this is the selling point of MXQ LifeWater – it’s technology! People around the world will carry the essence of LifeWater to travel or with them during exercise. 10 drops can replenish the nutrition needed by the body and leave one feeling energized.

President Ma Xiaoqiu’s Representative in the United States, Dr. Jeannie Yi, told American reporters: although the MXQ LifeWater company is registered in the United States, and famous Americans in the industry serve as CEO and CFO, The company’s corporate culture is China’s wisdom of “being as good as water and governing the enterprise by virtue”. Ma Xiaoqiu style management, a corporate culture in which everyone is everyone and collective interests are always higher than individual wishes. With the concept of “water”, a new generation of LifeWater beneficial to mankind is created.

Dr. Ma Xiaoqiu’s acquisition of the Hollywood Family Film Awards last year and the development of NNS technology LifeWater this year all focus on the concept of “water”. There is no life without water. Where there is water, there are people living; Where there are people living, there are songs and laughter. If you are healthy physically and mentally, life will be beautiful. This is the life philosophy and lifestyle that Chairman Ma Xiaoqiu has been pushing. She led the group to read Tao Te Ching every morning, which is also a corporate culture of “being good like water”. By entering Hollywood, Dr. Ma Xiaoqiu is also bringing a moral bottom line and gratitude into Hollywood and MXQ LifeWater. No wonder many Americans, after drinking MXQ LifeWater, say; “this is a product of good human nature – human product, which brings health and happiness to the people.”

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River Yacht Club, Miami, Florida – Receives the 5 Star Diamond Award (Note: The Great Club is closed temporarily due to the Hurricane. – Click here for Video & Podcast…

admin — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 16:55:09 +0000

http://goodnewsplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/River-Yacht-Club.mp3
https://riveryachtclub.com/ Premier Waterfront Dining Experience. River Yacht Club welcomes you to the premier waterfront dining experience. Visit our website to see our venue to enjoy your sneak peek into Miami high life.

The post River Yacht Club, Miami, Florida – Receives the 5 Star Diamond Award (Note: The Great Club is closed temporarily due to the Hurricane. – Click here for Video & Podcast… appeared first on Good News!.

JERRY GREENFIELD OF BEN AND JERRY’S

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 20:12:43 +0000

GREAT CORPORATE AND HUMAN CITIZEN SHARES HIS GOOD NEWS
JERRY GREENFIELD AND HIS LONG-TIME FRIEND AND BUSINESS PARTNER BEN COHEN ARE THE MEN BEHIND ONE OF THE MOST TALKED-ABOUT, AND LEAST CONVENTIONAL SUCCESS STORIES IN AMERICAN BUSINESS. CO-FOUNDER OF BEN & JERRY’S HOMEMADE, INC., GREENFIELD HAS HELPED TO BUILD A STORE FRONT VENTURE INTO A $300 MILLION ICE CREAM EMPIRE BY MAKING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND CREATIVE MANAGEMENT STRENGTHS, RATHER THAN WEAKNESSES.
GREENFIELD WAS BORN FOUR DAYS BEFORE HIS FUTURE BUSINESS PARTNER IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, HE GREW UP AND WENT TO SCHOOL IN MERRICK, LONG ISLAND. IT WAS THERE THAT HE FIRST MET COHEN IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL. AFTER GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL WITH A NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP UNDER HIS BELT, GREENFIELD ENROLLED AT OBERLIN COLLEGE.
IN 1976, HE MOVED IN WITH COHEN AND THE TWO DECIDED TO PURSUE THEIR DREAM OF STARTING A FOOD BUSINESS TOGETHER. THEY EVENTUALLY SETTLED ON ICE CREAM, AND IN MAY 1978, OPENED BEN & JERRY’S HOMEMADE ICE CREAM PARLOR IN BURLINGTON, VERMONT.
TODAY A MODEL FOR AMERICAN BUSINESS SUCCESS, GREENFIELD AND COHEN HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED FOR FOSTERING THEIR COMPANY’S COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY BY THE COUNCIL ON ECONOMIC PRIORITIES AND BY THE U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION. THEY HAVE ALSO RECEIVED THE JAMES BEARD HUMANITARIANS OF THE YEAR AND THE PEACE MUSEUM’S COMMUNITY PEACEMAKERS OF THE YEAR AWARDS.
TODAY, GREENFIELD’S OFFICIAL TITLE AT THE COMPANY IS CO-FOUNDER. HE IS INVOLVED IN PROMOTING THE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES THAT BEN & JERRY’S UNDERTAKES. HE IS ALSO PRESIDENT OF THE BEN & JERRY’S FOUNDATION.

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Leslie Robinson

editor — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 17:49:58 +0000

Hear what she’s doing and you will feel better…

The post Leslie Robinson appeared first on Good News!.

LESLIE ROBINSON, KEEP IT REAL Rx GAME

editor — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:17:13 +0000

BIO:

Inventor of the interactive card deck Warrior Spirit / Mission Homefront and Warrior Spirit / Mission Homefront for Couples,

Leslie is a psychotherapist with a private practice in New York City, and she has been a Consultant for the foster care system for seventeen years. Leslie has been a Program Director for programs for at-risk youth in the South Bronx, for six years created and implemented long-term intensive arts and after-school programs in inner city schools for at-risk and hard to reach youth, developed and led staff development trainings in creativity, and for two years pioneered a poetry project at Rikers Island Correctional Facilities for Men and Women. She has also supervised residences for homeless young adults, worked in homeless shelters, worked in an emergency shelter for runaway youth, and has been an adjunct literature and writing Professor at the College of New Rochelle. Leslie graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Masters Degree in Creative Writing. Recently, she has been creating and facilitating highly lauded Diversity and Leadership Development workshops at college campuses which include City College of New York, Bronx Community College, and Kingsborough College.

Leslie recently launched the Warrior Spirit / Mission Homefront and Warrior Spirit / Mission Homefront for Couples interactive card decks, which have already been garnering great praise amongst Veterans, the National Guard, Behavioral and Psychological Health Therapists, family members of Veterans, V.A.’s, Vet Centers, Wounded Warrior programs, Family programs, Commanders, Generals and Chaplains, among others. Please visit www.missionhomefront.com, for testimonials, videos, sample questions, and for further information on this product.

Contact: Leslie Robinson at Leslie@missionhomefront.com or at 917.302.5086

ABOUT THE KEEP IT REAL Rx GAME

In a world where technology exceeds our wildest expectations, we are still without tools with which to unlock and discover the most precious and fundamental parts of ourselves. Leslie Robinson, the creator of the Keep It Real game, invented this game to provide a space where people can come together to explore, discover and share their innermost thoughts, feelings and desires, to create connection which has meaning, to help people to communicate deeply, and to celebrate the extraordinary diversity of the human psyche.

As we go through our routines, where along the way do we get feedback about our lives and the complexity of how experiences have affected us? Where are we taught about the power of emotions and how they influence us? How do we find our way? The Keep It Real game is all about US, and is all about LIFE. While we play, we discover one another in all of our different dimensions, are surprised and exhilarated by one another, have a fabulous time, and we are given the opportunity to reflect on our lives in a unique and transformative way.

Keep It Real Rx is a place where strangers become friends, friends become comrades, and families open up to one another and see one another with new eyes. The Keep It Real game beckons us to look at the underside of life and fling our flags away. It pleads with us to put our old, little snarly judges down for naps, try on another’s shoes for a while, listen to one another, and indulge fully in the splendor of our human experience.

The Keep It Real game asks real questions you have always wanted to ask but never dared to, and real questions you have always secretly wanted to talk about such as: Do you believe in “an eye for an eye” or turning the other cheek, and why?; What do you think keeps love alive?; What does freedom mean to you?; What is something you would like a second chance at? Think of a race different from your own – how would your life be different if you had been born into that race?; Would you rather be a famous rock star or a great politician, and why?; Have you ever had a spiritual experience? Explain.

The rules of the game are simple: you move around the circular track responding to questions in five categories (determined by the roll of the dice): Personal, The World, Fantasy/Imagination, Reflection and Action/Description. In the Interaction category you engage in unusual and enjoyable interactions, and in the Challenge category you are prompted to move out of your comfort zone, and to be glad you did. You have opportunities to win gold coins in the challenge category, and from your fellow players. The first player to reach the Giant Keep It Real space in the center of the board with the most gold coins wins the game.

Keep It Real is great for ages 14 and up, with 2 to 12 players. You can purchase the Keep It Real game online at Keepitrealgame.com, or at Amazon.com. To view videos, see more thought provoking questions, and to find out more, please visit us at our website at www.keepitrealgame.com, and at our blog at www.keepitrealgame.tumblr.com.

QUOTE

“There has never been a board game like this … EVER!!! We have seen and played the games that challenge our memory, our intellect, our management skills, even our physical dexterity. But KEEP IT REAL challenges us in ways that would do far more than entertain or help to pass the time. It will stay with us in potentially life altering ways in rebuilding our perceptions of others and ourselves, while having us run a fun filled spectrum of emotions in the process. No one has ever enjoyed themselves or explored themselves this much with a board game before!”

Gerard Brown – – Screenwriter of “Juice” starring Tupac Shakur

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Trance4mation Games Mission

Trance4mation Games views its mission as providing the public with bold and transformational games which are in essence restorative powerhouses; games to revitalize and rejuvenate the human spirit through the creation of a safe “space” for authentic, life-enhancing communication and interpersonal connection. Social isolation as well as breakdowns in communication in families have become significant issues. Trance4mation Games creates powerful, cutting edge interactive games designed to address and to change this trend.

Trance4mation Games is deeply committed to assisting those who are working to help our disenfranchised youth become more connected to their schools, and their communities. 90% of the students who have played this game feel the use of the Keep it Real game in their classrooms would promote a better learning environment, reduce violence, and create more harmony in their schools.

We are seeking to distribute the Keep It Real game to schools and organizations who work with youth, and are in need of a tool which will help them to connect, bond, and establish positive and productive relationships with teens, as well as to assist the teens in understanding themselves and others, and life more deeply.

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