Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown (at podium) and a coalition of Queens elected officials – (l-r) Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, City Council Members Leroy Comrie and Ruben Wills, State Assembly Members Vivian Cook and Barbara Clark, Mark McMillian, counsel to Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, and State Senator Malcolm Smith – met in a show of solidarity and pledged support to help stem the increase in gun violence that has caused injury to and claimed the lives of innocent community members. Photo Courtesy of Queens DA.
In an effort to tackle an issue on the rise in South Queens, a slew of local politicians met to adopt a nine Point Program to end gun violence.
According to a press release from the Queens District Attorney’s Office, which cites CompStat statistics, homicides have increased almost 30 percent in southern Queens over the past year, while they have decreased in other parts of the city. Moreover, shooting incidents have also sky-rocketed by 22 percent in the same area, the third highest increase in the City.
In the same press release, District Attorney Richard Brown, asserted he is not taking the figures lightly.
“As elected officials and members of the Queens community it is imperative that we join our voices and be heard as one to denounce this recent and unacceptable level of gun violence and that each of us do our part in any way possible to end the violence,” Brown said.
Along with a mix of state legislators, city council members, and the Borough President, Brown outlined nine key strategies to help curb the prominent issue and assuage concerned citizens.
Highlights of the plan of action include promoting an “unequivocal message that carrying guns and committing acts of violence in Southeast Queens is unacceptable,” through a public relations campaign that encourages “community members to report illegal guns and violent crimes and cooperate with law enforcement.”
The meeting attendees also pledged to increase police resources in precincts where violent crime is high, strictly enforce existing gun laws, and support legislation that will keep assault weapons out of the hands of criminals.
Another strategy local officials agreed to continue to endorse is the surrender of guns at local precincts for cash payments.
Congressman Gregory Meeks, State Senators Malcolm Smith and Shirley Huntley, State Assembly Members Barbara Clark, Vivian Cook, Michele Titus and William Scarborough, City Council members Leroy Comrie, Ruben Wills and James Sanders, and Borough President Helen Marshall were all in attendance.
