New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced his blueprint for reducing gun violence in the Big Apple—a plan that will dump $485 million into early intervention and prevention strategies that address employment, mental health issues, and housing. Such “targeted, intentional investments,” Adams said, have the ability to “create a city where no one ever decides that they need to pick up a gun.”
The report caps off an 18-month effort to address the issue by engaging with communities hardest hit by gun violence.
“Public safety work is never done and even a single loss of life from gun violence is a tragedy,” the Democrat said. “Today, we are taking our efforts to end gun violence to the next level with this new 'Plan for Community Safety.'”
NBC New York summarizes the plan's seven strategies:
- Early Intervention: $118.3 million to increase early supports, including mentoring opportunities, for youth to prevent involvement in gun violence.
- Housing: $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.
- Police and Community Relations: $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 security and justice.
As highlighted by The Washington Free Beacon, however, the plan is missing one crucial element: the hiring of more officers at a time when NYPD cops are resigning in record numbers.
NYPD pension data obtained by the New York Post earlier this year showed 239 officers left the job in January and February, a 36 percent increase from the number who departed the force during the same period the year prior and a whopping 117 increase from 2021.
“The NYPD staffing emergency is approaching the point of no return,” Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said at the time.
Social media users pointed out another big problem with the plan:
What you’re supposed to do is prosecute crime - not dismiss everything that walks into your office. YOU are a part of the problemhttps://t.co/qP72WAgh0i
— Victims Rights (@victimsrightsNY) August 1, 2023
If you are not talking about prosecuting crime, please take a seat @BronxDAClark
— Madeline Brame (@brame_madeline) July 31, 2023