THE FULL RECAP
Over 3,000 people packed Baitul Mamur Masjid and Community Center at 1033 Glenmore Ave, Brooklyn for MUNA Social Services’ Summer Community Fest, a full eight-hour celebration of community, service, and everything MSS has built in this neighborhood. From 10 AM to 6 PM, the grounds were alive.
Kids jumped on amusement rides. Young performers took the stage and brought the crowd to their feet during the talent show. Competition awards were handed out. Free meals kept everyone fed all day long. Families came out together and stayed together. Nobody left early.
Months before June 27, the MSS team was deep in the work. Coordinating with dozens of vendors, community partners, city agencies, and elected officials. Mapping out the program, the food logistics, the award ceremony, the crowd flow. The kind of behind-the-scenes work that most people never see but feel the moment they walk through the gates.
“This event required coordination across dozens of partners, vendors, and community stakeholders,” said Dr. Jahangir Kabir, Director of Operations and Communications at MSS. “We started planning months in advance, working through logistics on everything from food supply and crowd management to the award ceremony and program flow. The fact that 3,000 people came out and had a good experience is a credit to every volunteer, every partner, and every staff member who put in the work before June 27 even arrived.”
City leadership showed up too. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso was in the building, along with Congressional Candidate Claire Valdez, Assembly Candidate David Orkin, Council Member Sandy Nurse, and the President of Brooklyn Community Board 5. When elected officials show up to a community event on a Saturday, it means something. It means the work MSS has been doing in East New York has not gone unnoticed.
The program featured one of the most meaningful moments of the day: a formal recognition of five individuals who have given their time and dedication to the communities MSS serves.
Deputy Commissioner Aldren Foster of the NYPD Community Affairs Unit received an award. So did Deputy Inspector Dion Hinds, Commanding Officer of the 75th Precinct, Lieutenant Md. Latif of the NYPD, Mahedi Hasan, Faith Liaison at the NYC Mayor’s Office, and Zunera Ahmed, Senior Advisor to the NYC Council Speaker. Five people. Five careers built around service. All recognized in front of 3,000 of the people they serve.
MUNA National came to Brooklyn for this one. National President Imam Delour Hussain was there alongside National Executive Director Arman Chowdhury, National Assistant Executive Director Abdullah Al Arif, MUNA NY North Zone President Momin Mazumdar, and MUNA NY South Zone President Emdad Ullah. The national organization does not show up like that for just any event. They came because what MSS has built in New York is worth showing up for.
Holding it down for MSS on the day were Executive Director Safayet H. Safa, Deputy Executive Director Mohammad M. Sujon, and Dr. Jahangir Kabir, the same people who put in the months of work that made June 27 possible.
None of it would have happened without the partners who believed in the vision. Assemblyman Erik Martin Dilan, State Senator Roxanne J. Persaud, Assemblywoman Nikki Lucas, City Council Member Chris Banks, Met Council, UA3 Community First, NYIC, ICNARelief, NYPD Community Affairs Bureau, Food Bazaar Supermarket, Guidance Residential, Muslim Ummah of North America, COPO, NAHAR, A&F Pharmacy, Lima Pharmacy, Amiable Pharmacy, Pure Farmers, Hasan Legal, MSS Design Studio, and dozens of others who showed up and made it real.
3,000 people. Eight hours. Free food, live performances, amusement rides, competition awards, and five community honorees recognized in front of the neighborhood they serve.
MSS put that together. East New York showed up for it. And next year, they are going to do it all again.
June 2026 Impact Report:
Assemblyman Dilan Just Made NEFAP Bigger. Here Is How.
On June 10, 2026, New York State Assemblyman Erik Martin Dilan presented MUNA Social Services with a $350,000 check from New York State at a food distribution event in East New York, Brooklyn.
The funds are designated for a food truck and logistics improvements, two investments that will directly expand MSS’s capacity to distribute food across its network of pantry sites in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.
The presentation took place right in the middle of the work. MSS volunteers in yellow vests stood alongside fresh produce and pantry staples, doing what they do every week while Assemblyman Dilan handed over a check that will help them do it better and reach further.
For MSS, this is a significant moment. A mobile food truck means the program is no longer limited to fixed pantry locations. It means MSS can respond faster to emerging needs, reach neighborhoods that are harder to serve, and show up where the food is needed most. Combined with logistics improvements to the existing warehouse and distribution operation, the $350,000 investment will strengthen the entire NEFAP infrastructure from the ground up.
“Assemblyman Dilan has shown time and time again that he stands with this community,” said Dr. Jahangir Kabir, Director of Operations and Communications at MSS. “This $350,000 is not just a grant. It is a vote of confidence in the work we are doing every single day to make sure families across this borough have food on their tables. We are deeply grateful for his continued support and his belief in what MSS is building.”
Assemblyman Dilan has been a consistent partner of MSS and a regular presence at community events in East New York. This grant is the latest and most substantial expression of that relationship.
The food truck and logistics upgrades are expected to be operational and fully integrated into MSS’s distribution network in the coming months.
MSS, Council Member Chris Banks & ICNA Relief Show Up for Eid al-Adha
On Wednesday, June 10, 2026, MUNA Social Services partnered with ICNARelief and New York City Council Member Chris Banks of District 42 to host a Qurbani 2026 Meat Distribution at Baitul Mamur Masjid and Community Center, 1033 Glenmore Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11208.
Starting at 3 PM on a first come, first served basis, the event brought fresh halal meat directly to families in East New York in observance of Eid al-Adha, one of the most significant occasions in the Islamic calendar. Qurbani, the act of sacrifice during Eid al-Adha, carries deep religious meaning for Muslim families. MSS, ICNARelief, and Council Member Banks made sure that meaning was paired with real, tangible support for the community.
The partnership between MSS, ICNARelief, and Council Member Chris Banks reflects the kind of coordinated community effort that makes a real difference. ICNARelief brought the national reach and logistical capacity of one of the country’s largest Muslim relief organizations. Council Member Banks brought the civic support and representation of District 42. MSS brought the community relationships and the location at the heart of East New York.
Together, they made sure families in the neighborhood had access to halal meat during Eid al-Adha without having to go far or pay out of pocket.
MSS Shows Up for Tenants: Organize NYC Campaign in Jamaica
MUNA Social Services joined the Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement’s Organize NYC campaign at a community engagement event in Jamaica, Queens, as part of a citywide push to get more New Yorkers involved in the Rent Guidelines Board process ahead of the Board’s final vote on June 25, 2026.
Organize NYC is a multi-year initiative launched by the Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement with a straightforward goal: bring real organizing into the work of city government and give everyday New Yorkers a stronger voice in decisions that affect their lives. The first campaign zeroed in on Rent Guidelines Board hearings, pushing for greater participation from both tenants and landlords before the Board casts its final vote on rent increases for the year.
For the communities MSS serves, this is not an abstract policy conversation. Families in East New York, Jamaica, Jackson Heights, and across the five boroughs live with the consequences of RGB decisions every single year. Higher rents mean harder choices. Harder choices mean more families walking through the doors of MSS looking for food assistance, benefit enrollment help, and housing support.
MSS showed up in Jamaica because civic participation is part of the work. Connecting communities to resources is one side of what MSS does. Making sure those same communities know their rights, their options, and how to make their voices heard is the other.
For more information on Organize NYC and the Rent Guidelines Board campaign, visit organize.nyc.gov.
MSS and Achievement First Serve 100 Families at Linden Park
On June 16, 2026, MUNA Social Services partnered with Achievement First Public Charter Schools to distribute food to 100 families at Linden Park in East New York, Brooklyn.
Achievement First is one of the most established public charter school networks in the country. With 21 schools in Brooklyn and 2 in Queens, and a presence across New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, the network has spent 25 years focused on closing the achievement gap for Black and Brown children. Their mission is straightforward: prepare every student to excel in college and career, deepen their knowledge of self and community, and lead lives of purpose. Last year they celebrated their 25th anniversary, marking two and a half decades of work in the communities that need it most.
The partnership with MSS was a natural fit. Two organizations rooted in the same neighborhoods, serving the same families, working toward the same goal of making sure nothing gets in the way of a child’s future. Not hunger. Not inequality. Not a lack of resources.
100 families came out to Linden Park and left with food. On a Tuesday in June, in the middle of East New York, that is what a community partnership looks like in practice.
MSS continues to build relationships with organizations that share its values and its commitment to the people of Brooklyn. Achievement First is one of them.