Photo Courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
“This is our moment, New York,” Mayor Adams said.
By Michael V. Cusenza
South Queens elected officials this week applauded Mayor Eric Adams’s “Blueprint to End Gun Violence”—Hizzoner’s plan featuring policy proposals to curb the scourge of illegal firearms plaguing the streets of the five boroughs.
“Just like so many New Yorkers, I was riveted to my television listening to Mayor Eric Adams’ ‘Blueprint to End Gun Violence,’” City Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park) said. “As a member of the Public Safety Committee, I am encouraged knowing that Mayor Adams has developed a blueprint that is driven by both the crime that is happening on our streets and subways every day, as well as data. We have gone eight long years without any plan to end gun violence in our city. I believe Mayor Adams’ ‘Blueprint to End Gun Violence’ is ambitious, shows clear direction, and encompasses many of the measures we have been asking for. These measures will have both short-term and long-term effects on creating a safer New York City for all.”
“‘The Blueprint to End Gun Violence’ is a transformative plan to deliver the public safety our city needs,” said Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven). “I will be proud to partner with Mayor Adams and my colleagues in the state Legislature to make this plan a reality. We can and will save lives, uplifting our neighbors at greatest risk, while holding accountable those who threaten our communities with illegal guns.”
“Our fears were realized on Tuesday as Police Officer Wilbert Mora has passed away,” State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) said. “Mora, and his partner Officer Jason Rivera — who was killed on Friday night in the incident that left Mora in the hospital fighting for his life — are true heroes for sacrificing their lives to protect this city. My condolences go out to both officers and their families. I stand with the officers of the NYPD, and with the Mayor of New York Eric Adams, working towards ending gun violence in our city so incidents like this don’t happen again.”
According to the administration, Adams’s roadmap calls for both intervention and prevention to end the gun violence epidemic affecting New York, and calls on the federal government and New York state to partner with his administration and other city entities to take immediate action to reduce gun violence.
Over the longer term, Adams said that he also plans to transform New York City and address the root causes that lead to gun violence by growing economic opportunities, improving the education of city children, providing greater access to mental health support, and more.
“Gun violence is a public health crisis that continues to threaten every corner of our city,” Adams said. “We pray for all the victims of violence and their families who are suffering, but we are going to do more than pray — we’re going to turn our pain into purpose. Public safety is my administration’s highest priority, which is why we will remove guns from our streets, protect our communities, and create a safe, prosperous and just city for all New Yorkers.”
Adams noted that since Jan. 1, City cops have taken 350 illegal guns off the street. Last year over 6,000 guns were confiscated.
“Our officers are doing heroic work getting guns off the street. But traffickers keep the guns coming. That must end. We must stop the flow of illegal guns into our city. The Iron Pipeline must be broken.The NYPD is our first line of defense against gun violence. We will make new efforts to strengthen and reinforce it, while continuing our mission to involve the community.
“We will start by putting more officers on patrol in key neighborhoods throughout the city. We will enhance existing Public Safety Units with new Neighborhood Safety Teams, which will focus on gun violence. We will launch these additional teams in the next three weeks, with deep focus on the 30 precincts where 80 percent of violence occurs, even as the Public Safety Units continue their lifesaving work.
“In doing this, we will avoid mistakes of the past. These officers will be identifiable as NYPD, they will have body cameras, and they will have enhanced training and oversight.
“We will also expand the partnership between the NYPD and New York State Police. We are already working with Gov. Hochul’s Public Safety team on reducing gun violence, sharing critical law enforcement data, and supporting the Interstate Gun Tracing Consortium.
“There are no gun manufacturers in New York City. Yet, even as the NYPD removed over 6,000 guns from our streets last year, we know that new guns are arriving by car, by bus and by train every day. The NYPD will work with state law enforcement to implement spot checks at entry points like Port Authority and other bus and train stations.
Adams also said that the “Blueprint” calls for the expansion of “the anti-violence Crisis Management System and ensure they have the necessary resources to do their work. There will be a central point of contact at City Hall to help them navigate every single agency so that our city government is aligned and coordinated in support of their life-saving efforts. We will also enlist every city agency in promoting public safety. From Sanitation to Housing to Buildings, we will have boots on the ground on every block of this city.
Adams noted in his remarks on Monday, “Just as we utilize precision policing, we must utilize precision prevention – reaching young people long before they turn to guns and violence. There are at least 250,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are out of school and out of work.
“My administration will launch an unprecedented Summer Youth Employment and Youth Engagement Program for summer 2022, as we know that gang violence and gun crimes spike in the summer months. Part of this effort will include partnership with large businesses and corporations across the city, with a goal of identifying a paid internship opportunity for every young person who wants one.
“It is important that I speak to you about the issue of our young people in foster care. Almost 3,000 young people are entrusted to our city through the foster care system, and about 500-600 age out of the system each year without a consistent adult to rely on. Only 21 percent of these young people have a high school degree or equivalency when they age out of foster care at 21. One out of every five enter a homeless shelter within three years of aging out.
“Programs like our Fair Futures initiative provides life coaches for this vulnerable population through age 26, and we are going to expand these programs that help our youth get on the right path.
Adams also noted that “social services are important in protecting our city, and nowhere is that more crucial than when it comes to the topic of mental health. Mental health and public safety go hand in hand. The mental health crisis in our city has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it contributes directly to the crisis of gun violence. Our entire health care system must play a role in reducing gun violence, and we are going to make sure our hospitals and mental health professionals get the resources they need.
“Our existing Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs are an important frontline response to those individuals who enter our hospital system with criminal or behavioral issues. These programs bring together hospital staff and law enforcement and community partners to provide support to violently injured people. Engaging patients in the hospital, during their recovery, is a real opportunity to improve lives and reduce retaliation and recidivism.
“The Health Department will expand this Intervention Program to 10 additional hospitals in the communities experiencing high rates of gun violence,” Adams promised. “My administration will also redirect resources from the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health, formerly known as ThriveNYC, into areas of immediate need. This will include support for those experiencing homelessness on our streets, especially those in urgent need of mental health care.
“Each of these steps will make a critical difference. But city government alone cannot solve a crisis that has reached across our nation.
“We will need support from New York state, federal partners, district attorneys, the U.S. Southern and Eastern District Courts, as well as all New Yorkers. I express my thanks to Governor Kathy Hochul and the entire New York state Legislature for their support of our city in this time of crisis. Your partnership going forward is critical, and I know we can work together to swiftly enact legislation and promote policies that will make it easier for our city to prosecute gun crimes.
“The Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns is an important first step. But we must also address bail reform and our pretrial detention system.
“First: We must allow judges to take dangerousness into account. New York is the only state in the country that does not allow a judge to detain a defendant who poses a threat to the community.
Forty-nine other states, as well as the federal government, allow judges to consider a defendant’s dangerousness. New York must catch up.
Far too many men above the age of 18 are victimizing children by forcing them to carry the weapons. This is evidenced by the statistics.
- In 2019, 2.5 percent of all youths under 18 who were arrested had a firearm.
- In 2021, that number was 10 percent.
- Children are being used as pawns.
“If a 16- or 17-year-old is arrested on a gun charge, the NYPD should ask the individual where they got the gun from. If the individual refuses to disclose that information prosecutors should have the ability to charge the individual in Criminal Court, rather than Family Court.
“We must also re-examine the 2019 reforms to the discovery process. We must allow district attorneys to move forward earlier with gun charges, removing disclosure requirements that jam up the process, and we urge the state to pass legislation to that effect.
“And finally, we must raise the penalty for gun trafficking. Currently, a gun trafficker on our streets won’t face a Class B felony until they sell 10 guns in a one-year period. We need to lower that number to three. And if you are in possession of three or more guns, this should be presumptive evidence of gun trafficking, not just possession.
“Rise up to protect each other. Rise up to defeat gun violence. Rise up to defend the way of peace and the work of prosperity,” Adams concluded. “This is our moment, New York.”
