Council Member Encarnación spreads invocation on record and honors Father Cruz

I would now ask Councilmember Elsie Encarnación to spread the invocation on the record.

Thank you, Majority Leader.

I've had the privilege of knowing Father Eric Cruz through his work across the Bronx, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to recognize him today following that powerful invocation.

Father Cruz has spent his ministry serving the South Bronx.

From his early work at Bronx Lebanon Hospital to his pastoral leadership at parishes across our borough.

Today, as pastor of St.

Anselm and Rock in Mount Haven, Father Cruz continues that tradition of service, and we've seen and felt the impact of your work firsthand in District 8.

The new St.

Anselm apartments on Tintin Avenue have brought hundreds of affordable homes to our community along with on-site supportive services like case management, legal and medical referrals, counseling, and employment assistance.

That kind of housing.

is especially important in a borough where affordable rent is scarce and where too many of our neighbors with disabilities or histories of homelessness are left without a safe place to land.

And what makes this project so meaningful is how it came together.

Catholic Charities, the Archdiocese, and Father Cruz saw an opportunity to turn a parking lot into a home for our neighbors, and you did it.

While this is a power example of what is possible when faith-based organizations, government, and our communities come together

around a shared commitment to housing and dignity, this is exactly the kind of innovative, faith-rooted partnership that the South Bronx needs.

I would like to thank you, Father Eric Cruz, for being here today.

And I want to make a motion for unanimous consent to spread the invocation in full upon the record.

Thank you, Councilmember.