Mayor Eric Adams took a victory lap Monday for the Big Apple seeing a more than quarter drop in shootings compared to last year — as he outlined his administration’s $485 million plan to cut gun violence that has remained stubbornly high in the post-pandemic era.
Dubbed the “Blueprint for Community Safety,” the plan is the product of a year-old task force charged by Adams with finding the “root causes of gun violence” and listing safety recommendations, according to a city press release.
“Our time has arrived, and now we have to get something done,” Adams said at a Monday press conference, flanked by Gov. Kathy Hochul and other elected officials, plus community advocates.
“There’s a small window of opportunity to bring the level of aggressiveness that we need, intervention and prevention … We are going to do everything we can.”
As of Sunday, the five boroughs had endured 592 shootings this year, certainly lower than the 805 in the first seven months of last year — but about 34% higher than the 2019 total of 441 shootings in the same span.
Asked what specific metrics the public could use to judge the success of the blueprint, Adams replied: “Hold us accountable. We are all in this together. It’s not just me, it’s not the folks here, it is the men and women of the media highlighting some of the good things we’re doing, lifting up those people who are participating.”
The mayor noted that cops have pulled 11,000 firearms off the streets since he took office in 2022, and that, in addition to shootings dropping by about 26% so far this year when compared to the first seven months of 2022, homicides have dipped, too.
But despite the congratulatory back-patting, gun violence has remained a persistent problem for the bullet-riddled New York City.
And although the city has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to the task force’s recommendations, only about $40 million of that will be new spending.
That money will go toward paying to keep some schools open for community use, youth job training and employment and data collection to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs, among other things, City Hall said.
The plan also puts aside $118 million for early intervention initiatives; $57 million to improve housing; $68 million to help New Yorkers access public benefits; $9 million to invest in public spaces such as parks, playgrounds and community centers; $118 million for skill training for young city residents; $106 million to bolster mental health programs; and $2.6 million to fund community policing, the release said.
About 92% of gun violence is concentrated in 30 of the 77 precincts, the city said. The administration will expand its investment into six of them, including neighborhoods in the Bronx and Brooklyn.
“We’re going to look at those 30 precincts. We’re going to start with the small number and we want to see a substantial decrease in violence, an increase in employment, increase in services, increase in infrastructure,” Adams said.
About 50 members of the task force spoke to roughly 1,500 residents during community town halls this spring to build the plan — including those from communities “most impacted by gun violence, including young people, whose feedback was critical in shaping the strategies and recommendations,” the release said.
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