The Rev. Michael Blake, the Jamaican-American candidate for New York City mayor, officially launched Project 2026 NYC at Bronx Drafthouse in The Bronx on Monday, March 10.
The event, which also served as a Believe in Blake campaign fundraiser, featured performances by Tony & Grammy Award-winning actor and singer Leslie Odom, Jr. and GRAMMY Award-winning contemporary Christian artist Israel Houghton.
Blake introduced Project 2026 NYC as “a bold, New York-first initiative designed to counter federal overreach and build a stronger, more resilient city.”
He said his platform prioritizes economic justice, tenant protections, and social services to ensure New Yorkers thrive.
“New York needs leadership that delivers policies to improve lives, not scandals and excuses,” said Blake, a former New York Assembly Member, Democratic National Committee vice chair and aide to former President Barack Obama.
“I’m the only person in this race who has worked at every level — federal, state, nonprofit, and business — to turn resources into tangible and positive results for our five boroughs,” he added.
“While others in this race are focused on staying out of jail by cozying up to a president who wants to cut our city’s social services or using taxpayer dollars to defend their transgressions after resigning as governor, I’m focused on defending our city’s future,” continued Blake, clearly taking a dig at New York City Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“New York is the wealthiest city in the world—there is no reason a person should go unhoused, hungry, or forgotten,” he said.
On Monday night, Blake outlined key priorities of Project 2026 NYC, including no federal cuts, guaranteed income, universal childcare, taxing empty apartments, paying faster, eliminating credit checks, free CUNY tuition, cash for content, reproductive rights protections, and immigration protections.
Blake said his campaign will roll out detailed policy positions for each initiative in the coming weeks, hosting press briefings, community events, and forums to engage New Yorkers and outline how Project 2026 NYC will be implemented.
Following the announcement, Leslie Odom Jr. and Israel Houghton took the stage, adding their voices to the movement.
Odom, renowned for his Tony Award-winning performance as Aaron Burr in Hamilton, was recently recognized by Time’s 100 Most
Influential People of 2024 list. Houghton, a five-time Grammy Award-winning artist, has been a leader in contemporary Christian music.
Rev. Michael Blake is the founder and CEO of Atlas Strategy Group Inc., which is focused on economic empowerment by increasing access to capital, contracts, and opportunities for minority-owned, women-owned, and small businesses.
He said his work includes collaborations with the Washington Football Team, Eccalon, and Operation Hope.
Blake also founded the KAIROS Democracy Project, a nonpartisan social welfare organization that mobilizes communities of color and engages young Americans in the real-world impact of democracy.
Blake’s public service career includes being an aide to former President Barack Obama, where he created the White House Urban Entrepreneurship series and co-led the Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprises initiative; inaugural Democracy Scholar at the W. E. B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy; former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee; former New York Assembly Member; chief organizer of Project Freedom, a people-centered answer to conservatives’ Project 2025.
With Project 2026 NYC launched, Blake reaffirmed his commitment to “fighting for a stronger, more just New York.”
