History

Mayor Eric Adams established the NYC Mayor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships through an executive order signed on February 10, 2022. He created the office in recognition of the extraordinary efforts by faith communities during crises—including the COVID‑19 pandemic—where they worked tirelessly to feed, support, protect, and uplift vulnerable New Yorkers. By instituting this office, Adams sought to formally acknowledge their vital civic role and provide a direct and structured line to City Hall, enabling these groups to contribute more effectively to initiatives ranging from gun-violence prevention and hate-crime response to shelter for migrants and neighborhood welfare. As Adams emphasized, “It’s past time that the city recognized the critical role the faith communities play in uplifting people across our city,” and the office—led by Pastor Gilford Monrose within the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit—was created to turn that belief into coordinated action across the five boroughs.