NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Mayor Eric Adams unveiled his anti-crime plan for New York City on Monday, as a new interstate task force focused on stopping the flow of illegal guns is set to meet for the first time this week.
Adams' "Blueprint to End Gun Violence" focuses on intervention and prevention tactics to end gun violence in the city. The most immediate action Adams is taking is ramping up enforcement by deploying more officers to the streets and subways.
There will be a focus on 30 precincts throughout the city where 80% of violence occurs, Adams said. These precincts, and others in the city, will have enhanced Public Safety Units with the addition of Neighborhood Safety Teams expected to roll out in the next three weeks.
“Gun violence is a public health crisis that continues to threaten every corner of our city,” said Adams “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.”
The mayor also wants to implement programs that will aid in preventing gun violence. Adams announced an unprecedented Summer Youth Employment Program which pairs young people with paid summer internships as a way to deter them from the heavy gun violence of the summer months. Along with an expanded SYEP program, Adams said his office will offer services for youth who have aged out of foster care.
Adams also laid out a plan to get more New Yorkers employed as a gun violence deterrent. "The best antidote to crime is a career," Adams said during the press conference. He put forth a plan to allow incentives for companies doing business with the city to hire from vulnerable communities.
Mental health was also a part of the mayor's blueprint with better access to treatment and a more robust, humane response effort for people experiencing a crisis. Adams plans to redirect resources from the Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health to areas of immediate need.
A new Quality of Life Task Force is also planned for the city which will be made up of senior leaders from NYPD, Department of Sanitation and Department of Homeless Services to assist the city's homeless population in places where the homeless and mentally ill congregate to make sure they are getting the resources they need.
Meanwhile, New York State Police, the NYPD, ATF and more than 50 other law enforcement representatives from nine Northeastern states will meet Wednesday to share data and resources as part of the nascent Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
The task force will meet at the New York State Intelligence Center (NYSIC) in East Greenbush, a suburb of Albany. In attendance will be law enforcement agencies from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Hochul, who announced the task force during her State of the State address earlier this month, said illegal guns are a “scourge” killing people in New York and across the region.
“Too many lives have been lost because of illegal firearms that should never have been on our streets,” the governor said. “By convening law enforcement officials from across the region, we can share intelligence and strategies that stem the flow of illegal guns and keep New Yorkers safe.”
It all comes days after one NYPD officer was killed and a second critically injured by a man wielding an illegal handgun in Harlem on Friday night.
The suspect’s gun—a .45-caliber Glock pistol with a high-capacity drum magazine capable of holding up to 40 extra rounds—had been stolen in Baltimore in 2017 and was illegal to have in New York City, authorities said.
Adams, a former NYPD captain, joined Hochul in calling on the federal government to do more to round up stolen guns like the one used in Friday's shooting.
According to the New York State Police's Criminal Gun Clearinghouse, a total of 1,074 illegal guns were recovered last year.
Preliminary statistics from the NYPD also show a total of 4,473 illegal guns were traced from out-of-state sources, with most coming from southern states like Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
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