Page 12 - The Indian EYE 012425

COMMUNITY OP-ED JANUARY 24, 2025 | The Indian Eye 12

Making New York City the

Best Place to Raise a Family

ERIC ADAMS

ast week in Harlem, the neighborhood where
generations of Black families have flour-
Lished, I reported to New Yorkers on the state
of our city and outlined an ambitious agenda to
make New York City the best place to raise a family.
When we came into office three years ago,

COVID, crime, and chaos had thrown New York
into uncertainty and pushed too many families From Central Park to Flushing Meadows, our city’s parks are where families come together. This year, we are going to open up
away. I told you then that we would not just bring
our city back; we’d make it better than ever. more playgrounds for use (File photo)
That started with keeping families safe. We put
thousands of new officers onto our streets, took that prevent crime in the first place. playgrounds so families have everything they need
nearly 20,000 illegal guns off them, and launched This year, we will begin a $163 million expan- close to home.
a $485 million action plan to prevent gun violence. sion of five of our most successful programs that To put more money back in your pockets, we
These efforts have paid off, with murders and shoot- connect young people to careers, college, and put forward an ambitious proposal to eliminate city
ings down by double digits since we took office. counseling. We know that if we do not educate, we income taxes for working-class families making 150
We put over $30 billion back into your pock- will incarcerate, which is why we will expand these percent of the federal poverty line or less. Our “Axe
ets and delivered hundreds of millions of dollars in programs to reach 8,000 young New Yorkers. the Tax” proposal will give over $63 million back to
tax relief. Last year alone, we broke new records When we came into office, we said the days of 582,000 New Yorkers and their dependents to help
for the most jobs and small businesses in city his- letting people languish on our streets and subways you make rent, afford groceries, and cover the cost
tory and enrolled a record 150,000 young people were over. We moved 8,000 New Yorkers from our of childcare.
in our early childhood education system. We also subways into shelter and committed to caring for And to lay the foundation for a lifetime of fi-
continued to deliver for our minority-and-women those who could not care for themselves. But we nancial freedom, we set a new goal of making sure
owned business enterprises, awarding $6.4 billion need to go further. every student can learn how to save and spend
in contracts. Last week, I announced a $650 million invest- money by 2030. We are going to put a financial ed-
We shattered affordable housing records two ment to bolster that work and tackle street home- ucator in every school district to provide workshops,
years in a row, unlocked billions of dollars for public lessness in New York City. We are going to add 900 counseling, and curriculum, and we are going to
housing, and, after decades of inaction, passed the more Safe Haven beds that offer people on our open new bank branches in city schools to give stu-
most pro-housing zoning proposal in city history. streets extra support and specialized services; open dents hands-on experience creating a bank account.
The state of our city is strong. a new facility to care for unhoused New Yorkers suf- Finally, from Central Park to Flushing Mead-
But there’s no denying that New Yorkers are fering from serious mental illness; and launch a new ows, our city’s parks are where families come to-
anxious about their future. Extreme costs are forc- program to connect soon-to-be parents applying for gether, so this year, we are going to open up more
ing too many families to make hard choices. I know shelters with permanent housing, because no child playgrounds for use on nights, weekends, and
because I’ve been there. should ever be born into our city’s shelter system. during the summer to put another 20,000 New
My mother worked several jobs to raise six kids To make sure more families can afford to live Yorkers within a 10-minute walk of a park.
by herself. But even though the odds were stacked across the five boroughs, we’re launching “City of No matter what challenges New York City fac-
against us, Dorothy Mae Adams never stopped Yes for Families.” We’ll work with city agencies and es, I promise you this: no one will fight harder for
fighting to provide her family with a better life, and with the City Council to build more family-friend- your family than our administration will.
that is why I will never stop fighting to do the same ly neighborhoods; that means more family-sized With these investments in public spaces and
for you. homes and homes for multi-generational families, public safety, housing and financial freedom, we
To make America’s safest big city even safer, so parents, grandparents, and grandchildren can will make sure that the greatest city in the world is
we are adding hundreds of new officers to our sub- live together. It also means building more homes also the best place to raise a family.
ways and making the smart, upstream investments alongside schools, libraries, grocery stores, and Eric Adams is the Mayor of New York City, NY

www.TheIndianEYE.com