NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday issued a first-in-the-nation executive order declaring a “disaster emergency” on gun violence in New York State.
The order came after at least 51 people were shot across the state during the Fourth of July weekend, included 26 people in New York City.
The governor, at a press conference at John Jay College, noted that gun violence has risen dramatically in the state and the new executive order will allow the state to “move quickly” and free up funding to create new programs to target gun violence.
The state will move forward with a seven-step, comprehensive plan that will include:
1. Treating gun violence like the emergency public health issue it is
2. Targeting hotspots with data and science
3. Positive engagement for at-risk youth
4. Breaking the cycle of escalating violence
5. Getting illegal guns off the streets
6. Keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people
7. Rebuilding the police-community relationship
“We want to do with gun violence what we just did with COVID.
That’s what we want. We want the same level of attention, the same level of energy,” Cuomo said.
To begin the fight against gun violence, Cuomo will issue an executive order that will require the largest police departments in New York to begin submitting incident-level data on shootings, so that the state can track emerging hot zones and direct resources where needed.
“I want from all the police departments across the state exactly where these shootings are happening, so we have the information, so we know where to target and we know what to address,” the governor said.
The state will also create the new Governor’s Council on Gun Violence Reduction, which will work to “ensure the state is hearing and responding” to the concerns of different localities and communities most impacted by gun violence.
The council will also be tasked with reviewing current laws and legal reforms to make recommendations for new work strategies or new laws based on science and data, “not politics and rhetoric.”
Additionally, the state will begin a cluster-based strategy to combat gun violence by identifying hot spots across the state – similar to how the state battled the coronavirus pandemic.
Once those areas have been identified, the state will move in with more police officers to combat gun violence and create programs to help at-risk teenagers.
Some areas that have already been identified in New York City are Harlem, Parkchester, Corona, Ocean Hill, Canarsie and Tompkinsville. Those zones include 0.7% of New York City’s at-risk youth who have seen, or been a part of, 36% of the city’s recent shootings.
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Cuomo says the main way the state will be helping those teens and young adults is by helping them get jobs.
“The best thing we can do for those at-risk youth, you reach them today and say, ‘I’m gonna give you a future, I’m gonna give you an alternative, I’m gonna give you training and I’m gonna give you a job,’” the governor said.
Cuomo notes that the state has learned that when at-risk youth participate in a summer jobs program, it decreases the likelihood of getting involved in violence by 45%.
As part of the summer jobs program, the state will pay 100% of the salaries for those at-risk youth who find employment. The state will be investing $57.5 million to create over 21,000 jobs for those teens this summer.
Furthermore, the state will be commencing a “border war” to prevent illegal guns from entering the state. The state police will create a new Gun Trafficking Interdiction Unit to specifically focus on arms trafficking in the state.
Cuomo also stressed that the state will soon begin to hold gun manufacturers legally liable for “the death and destruction their businesses cause.” However, it remains unclear if any lawsuits will be brought against any gun manufacturers within the coming weeks.
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