Page 28 - The Indian EYE 081823

The Indian Eye
NORTH AMERICAN Newsline AUGUST 18, 2023 28

Keeping New Yorkers safe: NYC Mayor

Adams unveils a Blueprint in Action

More than $485 Million in investments to create a city where no one ever

decides that they need to pick up a gun

OUR BUREAU
New York City, NY
ew York City Mayor Eric Adams, First Dep-
uty Mayor Sheena Wright, and the New York
NCity Gun Violence Prevention Task Force
have embarked on a much safer New York City call-
ing for action with “A Blueprint for Community Safe-
ty.” As per Mayor Adams, “Public safety is not only a
prerequisite, but the pathway to prosperity. Overall,
crime is down across the city year to date, and our
numbers continue to trend in the right direction.”
This $485 million blueprint captures the Adams
administration’s vision for a city free of gun violence,
with double digits (27%) reduction in gun violence
over the last 18 months. The aim of this blueprint is
simple: how to stop gun violence before it even hap-
pens on the street. As budget reflects values, the larg-
est investment in city history towards gun violence First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright with A. T. Mitchell Founder Man Up with Ethnic Community Media round table conference
prevention is a step in the right direction with tar- in City Hall, New York
geted, intentional investments to create a city where
no one ever decides that they need to pick up a gun.
As per the Co-chair, First Deputy Mayor Shee-
na Wright and Man Up! Inc. Founder A.T. Mitchell,
this major initiative is a multi-agency, cross-sector
effort to promote long-term safety across all com-
munities and make New York City much safer. The
motive of the city government is that an all-hands-
on-deck effort is needed to face the challenge of
gun violence.
The idea behind this report is to interact with
community and address neighborhoods’ specific
challenges, needs and priorities through data anal-
ysis. The blueprint envisages 7 strategies once ap-
plied into the first 6 precincts (most impacted) and
eventually into the other top 30, to make this great
city rise above the ashes of senseless gun violence.
The Gun Violence Prevention Task Force was
formed in June 2022, with underlying Vision being
‘All New Yorkers live in safe communities and are New York city First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright Jose Bayona and First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright
free from gun violence,’ and Mission as, ‘Address with Jose Bayona New York city Ethnic & Community Media, with A. T. Mitchell with Ethnic & Community Media round
the upstream causes of violence in impacted com-
munities to reduce shooting incidents and ensure Executive Director table conference in City Hall, New York
that children and their families, young adults, and
formerly incarcerated New Yorkers have full access also nearly doubling over the same period. olence in NYC is concentrated within the 30 pre-
to the opportunities that help them thrive.’ The City needs interventions that start ear- cincts with the highest number of shooting incidents.
Though New York City is one of the safest big lier and focus on positive youth development as Further, In 2022, one-in-four shootings (25%)
cities in the United States, but since the onset of the the youth unemployment rate in New York City and 39% of confirmed shots fired citywide occurred
COVID-19 pandemic, gun violence has spiked to is more than double that of the United States as a in just 6 precincts. These neighborhoods, mostly
an unseen level. The shooting rates touched a new whole (17.9% vs. 8.3%, respectively in 2022) along Black and Brown communities, reflect the historic
high and increased roughly 3X in the summer of with 28.9% decrease in CUNY community college disinvestment and quality of life challenges that the
2020, with 21% increase in index crimes over the enrolments since 2018. Hence, Mayor Adams has Task Force seeks to address. The pandemic aggravat-
last year. Gun violence is increasingly impacting identified public safety as critical to New York City’s ed generations of systemic racial discrimination and
New York City’s youth with number of children post-pandemic revival and prosperity. inequities in health care, housing, education, there-
under 18 being shot doubling since 2019 and the The focus of this blueprint is on the most im- by, increasing the risks of gun violence and making to
number of known offenders under the age of 18 pacted communities, as about 92% of total gun vi- address gun violence a key racial equity imperative.

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