Build 100% Affordable Housing, Fix NYCHA, Address the Mental Health Crisis, and Act on Local Issues.

On Sunday, June 1, 2025, over 2,000 Metro IAF members gathered at St. Paul Community Baptist Church in East New York and virtually from Temple Shaaray Tefila in Manhattan to call on the leading mayoral candidates to endorse Metro IAF NYC’s Four-Pronged Agenda.

“We can build 50,000 affordable homes right now. We can fix NYCHA now,” said Rev. Dr. David K. Brawley, pastor at St. Paul Community Baptist Church and co-chair of Metro IAF. “We can address the mental health crisis in New York City right now.” The crowd, the largest yet addressed by any mayoral candidates, comprised Metro IAF affiliates, East Brooklyn Congregations, Manhattan Together, South Bronx Congregations, and Queens Power. Leading up to the action, Metro IAF leaders met with over 10,000 New Yorkers in congregations, schools, apartment complexes, and nonprofit organizations to discuss the issues that mattered to them the most. Out of these meetings, leaders forged an agenda with pragmatic solutions that the next Mayor can achieve with Metro IAF, focusing particularly on building new affordable housing, fixing NYCHA, and improving mental health care.  

As Rev. Rashad Moore, Pastor of First Baptist Church of Crown Heights, explained, "There is only one person who has the power to unlock this land, and that is the Mayor of the city of New York. We are not coming here to beg. We are coming here to build."

Ms. Yolanda Moore, a resident of the Boulevard Houses, a development now under the RAD/PACT program, discussed how she had not seen any of the promised improvements. "We need a Mayor that commits to working with Metro IAF and NYCHA to enforce oversight accountability on RAD/PACT developers.”

“Our mental health is just as important as our physical health, yet the city has not made it a priority," said Ms. Jessica Ramos of Monte Sion Christian Church. "We need real solutions…No more pet projects. No more task forces. No more pilot programs that go nowhere!"

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Comptroller Brad Lander, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, Speaker Adrienne Adams, and Representative Zohran Mamdani each made commitments to act on the agenda laid out. With a 45-year track record of holding elected officials accountable, Metro IAF did not stop there. Calling for progress, not promises, Bishop H. Curtis Douglas, Senior Pastor of Dabar Bethlehem Cathedral, said, “We have listened, strategized, and acted. We are doing the work. Now is the time for the next Mayor to do their work. We are not stopping. We will be at the table to make sure you keep your commitments you made today.”

PRESS: Please see the following links for news coverage of assembly.