J. Antonio Fernández is the first non-clergy member to lead Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, a century-old network of social service agencies and an affordable housing provider. The greatest need he sees among those they serve? “Housing and food insecurity, no questions asked.”

J. Antonio Fernández, the new president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

For Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York (CCANY), 2025 was a year of change. The longtime social services nonprofit and affordable housing provider moved headquarters this past summer and changed executive directors for the first time in 25 years—and for the first time in its history, didn’t elect clergy to the post. 

The new executive director, J. Antonio Fernández, is neither a native New Yorker nor does he wear cassocks or vestments, as his predecessor did.

In October, Fernández became the first layperson to serve as executive director of the century-old CCANY. The network of social service agencies provide a wide range of support—including food, shelter, clothing, health and immigration services, disaster relief, and workforce development, among others—to people in need across New York State. 

When it comes to housing, CCANY offers programs that provide emergency shelter, prevent evictions, and pay rent for low-income families in housing court. The organization is also a housing developer itself through Catholic Homes, a CCANY agency, which owns approximately 3,000 units.

More than half of those were acquired through preservation efforts, in which CCNY took over and rehabilitated existing apartments. The organization’s goal for 2026 is to refinance and preserve around 1,120 units.

But Fernández—who immigrated from Spain and was previously the president and CEO of Catholic Charities in San Antonio, Texas—admits even their robust level of programming is a drop in the bucket when it comes to the scale of need in New York City, where more than half of tenants are rent-burdened.

City Limits caught up with Fernández to talk about his plans for the organization, the most pressing needs he sees among both longtime New Yorkers and new migrant arrivals, and the new mayoral administration.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 

City Limits: You immigrated to the United States to study English. For the first time, CCANY will be led by a layperson who is also an immigrant. What changes can we expect to see under your leadership? 

Fernández: I don’t know if any of the changes have to do with my status, not being a clergy person or an immigrant, because my job has always been to help other people in need. I really believe that Catholic Charities will help everybody, regardless of where you are coming from: Spain, China, Poland, Ukraine, or regardless of whether you are Catholic or not.

You know the concept of “pay it forward”? I feel people were extremely nice to me in the U.S when I got here. I stayed—I love this country—so I feel responsible to be extremely nice to other people who are coming here, or people who just need something. I feel obligated to do that, not out of morality, but because I have my own standards.

So is it unique that I’m the first layperson? Yes, it is. Does it give you more responsibility? Maybe. For more than 117 years, this company has been run by clergy. But at the end of the day, we are all human beings. It doesn’t matter whether you’re clergy or not.

CL: You’ve worked in San Antonio, with immigrant communities, and in Chicago.

Fernández: In San Antonio, we served over 350,000 immigrants in the last three years. A lot of people came crossing the border. Some people came and then left within 72 hours—to New York, Boston, Chicago, and so on. And then, as time went on, people started staying longer and longer. But for us, the work was not long-term case management, like it is in New York.

In New York, the conversation is more about the long-term approach, more legal help, more case management.

CL: CCANY serves more than 400,000 people annually. What are the most pressing needs the organization sees among the low-income New Yorkers it serves?

Fernández: I’ve been here for two and a half months. I’ve seen poverty. I’ve seen hungry people, people who need help making ends meet. Inflation has gone up so quickly that people haven’t been able to make the necessary changes.

What can we do for these people every week? That has to be the goal, not just one week a year, during Thanksgiving. How can I explain to people the need for more food and other basic human needs, while also increasing the case management to help people out of poverty and become self-sufficient? When we are looking at the Catholic Charities’ strategic plan, it should include more food pantries.

CL: Have you noticed any other common requests or issues related to housing among CCNY’s clients?

Fernández: People need housing, but food insecurity is huge. To me, case management is very important, even if it’s not equally important. During the pandemic, people were getting food. But how can we make sure that we’re not just giving them food, but also giving them the means to get out of poverty? 

Moving to New York was an experience. I learned how expensive it is to live there. I felt that. I think everybody, all human beings, has the right to housing, food, and clothes. So housing is the big issue, along with food insecurity. 

CL: Catholic Homes New York, an agency of CCANY, develops affordable housing for families and seniors. Can you tell us more about that?

Fernández: We’ve got projects in downtown Manhattan, the Bronx, and Harlem. The problem, though, is that it’s full. No matter how many more we do, it looks like we’re going to be full. The need is huge.

We recently completed the St. Anselm project in the South Bronx in October, and commenced construction on Broome Street in the Lower East Side this June, situated on the Grand Street Guild campus. If I could make one request of the government, it would be to put more money into housing, because it takes a long time to get a new building out there.

CL: Have you met with Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani or his team yet?

Fernández: Yes, three times: one before the election, and two after it. One during SOMOS in Puerto Rico with his team, and one at one of Catholic Charities’ agencies. Our social justice component is similar to his goals because it aims to help the poor. I think our missions are actually very similar.

CL: What does CCANY want the new Mamdani administration to focus on first?

Fernández: Housing and food insecurity, no questions asked. If we can get everyone in the city a place to live in humane conditions and provide them with food, clothes, and other basic human needs, I think that will be a huge win for everyone.

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Daniel@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post ‘The Need is Huge’: Catholic Charities’ New Leader on Hunger and Housing in NYC appeared first on City Limits.

By LINLEY SANDERS and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are increasingly rejecting the two major political parties, according to new polling.

Just under half, 45%, of U.S. adults now identify as independents, a new Gallup survey found. That’s a substantial shift from 20 years ago, when closer to one-third of Americans said they didn’t identify with the Democrats or Republicans.

This group appears, increasingly, to be driven by their unhappiness with the party in power, according to Gallup’s analysis. That’s a dynamic that could be good for Democrats in this year’s midterm elections, but doesn’t promise lasting loyalty. Independents have gravitated toward the Democrats over the past year when asked which party they lean toward, Gallup found, but attitudes toward the party haven’t gotten warmer. That suggests that the Democrats’ gains are probably more related to independents’ increasingly sour views of President Donald Trump.

Younger people, in particular, are rejecting the parties at much higher rates than older generations. More than half of Generation Z and Millennials identify as political independents, while a majority of older generations side with a party. That’s different from the past, when more young adults identified with the Democrats or the Republicans. And it’s part of the reason why frequent, dramatic swings in political power may become increasingly normal.

Democrats regain the edge with political independents

Independents have long been the largest political group in the U.S., and their numbers have increased over the last 15 years. But often, they’re more inclined to side with one of the parties over the other.

FILE – A polling place during primary voting, May 21, 2024, in Kennesaw, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

This year, the Democratic Party gained the partisanship edge when independents were asked whether they lean more toward the Democratic or Republican Party. Nearly half, 47%, of U.S. adults now identify as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party, while 42% are Republicans or lean Republican. This is an indication of how Americans are feeling about their political affiliations, and it may not be reflected in voters’ actual registration.

This shifted the 3-year party affiliation advantage that the Republican Party held while President Joe Biden was in office, reverting to where the Democrats stood during Trump’s first term.

While that’s certainly not bad news for Democrats as they look to regain one or both houses of Congress in November, it’s likelier that they’re benefiting from independents’ unhappiness with Trump, rather than building lasting goodwill for themselves. Trump’s approval among independents has fallen steadily over the year, while Democrats’ favorability remains historically low.

Young people drive independents’ strength

Younger Americans are driving the recent rise in U.S. adults identifying as independents.

The Gallup polling found majorities of Gen Z and Millennial adults – who were born between 1981 and 2007 – now identify as independents. Independent identity is softer in older generations, where only about 4 in 10 in Gen X currently call themselves independents and roughly 3 in 10 older adults do.

Young adults today are more likely than previous generations to identify outside of the Democratic and Republican Party. While 56% of Gen Z adults call themselves independents, that’s higher than in 2012, when 47% of Millennials said they were independents, and 1992, when 40% of Gen X adults identified that way, according to the Gallup analysis.

That means that this trend isn’t likely to shift, unless the parties are able to change the way younger people see them.

Independent Americans are increasingly the moderates

Americans who identify as moderates increasingly don’t see themselves in either party, Gallup’s polling shows.

Related Articles

Cuba’s president says no current talks with the US following Trump’s threats

Trump says Iran wants to negotiate as the death toll in protests rises to at least 544

China says US shouldn’t use other countries as ‘pretext’ to pursue its interests in Greenland

Federal Reserve Chair Powell says DOJ has subpoenaed central bank, threatens criminal indictment

A Minneapolis church holds a service of ‘Lament and Hope’ amid fears over immigration crackdown

More independents have described their political views as “moderate” over the last decade, while Democrats and Republicans have grown less likely to identity as moderates.

About half of independents, 47%, called themselves moderates in 2025, compared to about 3 in 10 Democrats and about 2 in 10 Republicans.

At the same time, Democrats and Republicans have become increasingly polarized in their ideology. About 6 in 10 Democrats now call themselves liberal, while the share that consider themselves moderate is among the lowest it’s ever been. Among Republicans, 77% consider themselves conservative, and moderate identity is also at a low point.

That creates another challenge for the parties to contend with, since appeals to the center to win the growing pool of independents could risk alienating the most committed people in their base.

By DÁNICA COTO and ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ, Associated Press

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Monday that his administration is not in talks with the U.S. government, a day after President Donald Trump threatened the Caribbean island in the wake of the U.S. attack on Venezuela.

Related Articles

More Americans identify as political independents, a new poll shows

Trump says Iran wants to negotiate as the death toll in protests rises to at least 544

China says US shouldn’t use other countries as ‘pretext’ to pursue its interests in Greenland

Federal Reserve Chair Powell says DOJ has subpoenaed central bank, threatens criminal indictment

A Minneapolis church holds a service of ‘Lament and Hope’ amid fears over immigration crackdown

Díaz-Canel posted a flurry of brief statements on X after Trump suggested that Cuba “make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not say what kind of deal.

Díaz-Canel wrote that for “relations between the U.S. and Cuba to progress, they must be based on international law rather than hostility, threats, and economic coercion.”

He added: “We have always been willing to hold a serious and responsible dialogue with the various US governments, including the current one, on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect, principles of International Law, and mutual benefit without interference in internal affairs and with full respect for our independence.”

His statements were reposted by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez on X.

On Sunday, Trump wrote that Cuba would no longer live off oil and money from Venezuela, which the U.S. attacked on Jan. 3 in a stunning operation that killed 32 Cuban officers and led to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro.

Cuba was receiving an estimated 35,000 barrels a day from Venezuela before the U.S. attacked, along with some 5,500 barrels daily from Mexico and roughly 7,500 from Russia, according to Jorge Piñón of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, who tracks the shipments.

Even with oil shipments from Venezuela, widespread blackouts have persisted across Cuba given fuel shortages and a crumbling electric grid. Experts worry a lack of petroleum would only deepen the island’s multiple crises.

The situation between the U.S. and Cuba is “very sad and concerning,” said Andy S. Gómez, retired dean of the School of International Studies and senior fellow in Cuban Studies at the University of Miami.

He said he sees Díaz-Canel’s latest comments “as a way to try and buy a little bit of time for the inner circle to decide what steps it’s going to take.”

Gómez said he doesn’t visualize Cuba reaching out to U.S. officials right now.

“They had every opportunity when President (Barack) Obama opened up U.S. diplomatic relations, and yet they didn’t even bring Cuban coffee to the table,” Gómez said. “Of course, these are desperate times for Cuba.”

Michael Galant, senior research and outreach associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C., said he believes Cuba might be willing to negotiate.

“Cuba has been interested in finding ways to ease sanctions,” he said. “It’s not that Cuba is uncooperative.”

Galant said topics for discussion could include migration and security, adding that he believes Trump is not in a hurry.

“Trump is hoping to deepen the economic crisis on the island, and there are few costs to Trump to try and wait that out,” he said. “I don’t think it’s likely that there will be any dramatic action in the coming days because there is no rush to come to the table.”

Cuba’s president stressed on X that “there are no talks with the U.S. government, except for technical contacts in the area of migration.”

The island’s communist government has said U.S. sanctions cost the country more than $7.5 billion between March 2024 and February 2025.

Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

NEW YORK (AP) — Paramount Skydance is taking another step in its hostile takeover bid of Warner Bros. Discovery, saying Monday that it will name its own slate of directors before the next shareholder meeting of the Hollywood studio.

Related Articles

Malaysia and Indonesia become the first countries to block Musk’s Grok over sexualized AI images

US stocks drift lower as Wall Street shows some concern about the White House’s and Fed’s feud

Sun Country to merge with Allegiant in 2026

Business People: Richard Coffey named to lead Ujamaa Place

Double-decker downtown: Your guide to every lunch spot in the St. Paul skyways

Paramount also filed a suit in Delaware Chancery Court seeking to compel Warner Bros. to disclose to shareholders how it values its bid and the competing offer from Netflix.

Warner Bros. is in the middle of a bidding war between Paramount and Netflix. Warner’s leadership has repeatedly rebuffed overtures from Skydance-owned Paramount — and urged shareholders to back the sale of its streaming and studio business to Netflix for $72 billion. Paramount, meanwhile, has made efforts to sweeten its $77.9 billion hostile offer for the entire company.

Last week, Warner Bros. Discovery said its board determined Paramount’s offer is not in the best interests of the company or its shareholders. It again recommended shareholders support the Netflix deal.

David Ellison, the chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance, said Monday that it’s committed to seeing through its tender offer. “We do not undertake any of these actions lightly,” he said in a letter to shareholders of Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. has yet to schedule its annual meeting or a special meeting to consider the Netflix offer, and Paramount did not name any potential candidates for the board.