NEW YORK — The City of New York on Monday released a Community Safety Plan outlining steps to address gun violence in the five boroughs.
According to the mayor, the more than $485 million plan will double public safety efforts, invest in hardest-hit communities, support youth, and activate levels of city government to prioritize prevention-based public safety approaches. .
The report builds on the city’s 18-month effort to reduce gun violence and culminates months of engagement with communities most affected by gun violence. More than 50 task force members, representing 20 city agencies, engaged approximately 1,500 community residents over the course of spring 2023 through community meetings and youth town halls.
“Public safety is not just a prerequisite, but the path to prosperity. It is what we have campaigned for and what we have delivered. Overall, crime has decreased citywide year-to-date, and our numbers continue to trend in the right direction. Public safety work is never done and even a single loss of life from gun violence is a tragedy,” said Mayor Adams. “Today, we are taking our efforts to end gun violence to the next level with this new ‘Plan for Community Safety.’”
The recommendations presented in the report represent a holistic approach to community safety, focusing on prevention and intervention strategies that use a public health and community development model to address the root causes of gun violence.
To that end, the task force identified seven strategies in the report based on months of community engagement. These strategies encompass new and existing investments, totaling more than $485 million, to provide early interventions for youth, increase employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, improve housing security, facilitate access to public benefits, strengthen institutions communities, foster connections to mental health services, and strengthen police-community relations.
- Early intervention: $118.3 million to increase early supports, including mentoring opportunities, for youth to prevent involvement in gun violence.
- Living place: $57.5 million to improve existing housing conditions, especially for public housing residents, and increase access to transitional, supportive, and permanent housing units.
- Navigation and benefits: $67.8 million to help New Yorkers access the public benefits they deserve and better assist justice-related individuals and families navigating benefit programs.
- Community Vitality: $8.64 million to invest in public spaces, including parks, playgrounds, and community centers to make neighborhoods safer and more vibrant.
- Employment and entrepreneurship: $118.5 million to focus on opportunities and skills training for young New Yorkers and those involved in justice to provide pathways to sustainable, well-paying jobs.
- Trauma Informed Care: $106.66 million to bolster mental health resources for youth and others with a diagnosed mental illness, and ensure an appropriate crisis response for those experiencing mental health episodes.
- Relations with the community and the police: $2.6 million to strengthen the bonds of trust between police and communities by enabling greater collaboration on neighborhood safety initiatives, ensuring more effective policing that balances the twin imperatives of safety and justice.
An additional $1.5 million will go toward engagement and evaluation to build an infrastructure to measure progress on the above strategies. Ultimately, the state contributed $6 million to the general plan.
According to the report, approximately 92 percent of the city’s gun violence is concentrated in 30 police stations in the five boroughs. Six of these, representing 25 percent of shooting incidents and 39 percent of confirmed shootings citywide in 2022, are prioritized for the new and expanded investments recommended in the report. The six quarters are:
- Barracks 40: Port Morris, Mott Haven and Melrose.
- Barracks 42: Morrisania, Claremont and Crotona Park.
- Barracks 44: Grand Concourse, Bronx Terminal Market and Yankee Stadium.
- Barracks 47: Wakefield, Woodlawn, Baychester and Williamsbridge.
- Barracks 73: Brownsville and Ocean Hill.
- Barracks 75: Eastern New York and Cypress Hill
The City also benefits from the support of New York State and outside partners, including Everytown for Gun Safety and Trinity Wall Street. These resources will be used to strengthen the Crisis Management System, which deploys violence interrupters in communities most at risk of violence to reduce conflicts before they turn deadly.
