NYC Unveils $500M Gun Violence Plan Focused On Communities, Not NYPD

NEW YORK CITY — A sprawling new plan aims to stop the cycle of gun violence in New York City by investing $500 million into community-focused programs rather than directly into the police.

The plan dubbed "A Blueprint for Community Safety" was unveiled by Mayor Eric Adams in a Monday event that doubled as a Who's Who of prominent city and state leaders.

All argued the plan's sweeping scope — including nearly $120 million for early intervention programs — would help take people off the path toward picking up a gun with violent intent.

And the Blueprint's many goals won't be meaningless words, said A.T. Mitchell, who found Man Up! Inc. and co-chaired the gun violence prevention task force that crafted the plan.

"Words on paper without action are meaningless," he said.

"We will the elephant in the room one phase at a time."

The plan first calls to first focus investments in six NYPD precincts — the 40th, 42nd, 44th and 47th in The Bronx, and the 73rd and 75th in Brooklyn — that have been the hardest hit by gun violence.

Those investments fall into seven strategies, as outlined by the Mayor's Office:

• Early Intervention: $118.3 million to increase early supports, including mentorship opportunities, for young people to prevent them from becoming involved 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 & Benefits: $67.8 million to help New Yorkers access public benefits they deserve and provide better assistance to justice-involved individuals and families navigating benefits 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 target opportunity and skills training for young New Yorkers and justice-involved individuals to give them pathways to sustainable, well-paying jobs.
• Trauma-Informed Care: $106.66 million to bolster mental health resources for young people and others with a diagnosed mental illness, and ensure appropriate crisis response to those suffering from mental health episodes.
• Community & Police Relations: $2.6 million to strengthen bonds of trust between police and communities by allowing greater collaboration on neighborhood safety initiatives, ensuring more effective policing that balances the twin imperatives of safety and justice.

The more-than $485 million plan came after engagement with roughly 1,500 community residents in the city, officials said.

It also arrives as crime, especially violent crime, is on a significant dip in the city — a fact that Adams erroneously claimed hasn't been reported by local media.

Many speakers at the event noted New York City remains the safest big city in the nation.

"We have to mention that, even though the media sometimes doesn't," said Jumaane Williams, the city's public advocate. "But what we also know is that means nothing to the people who are being killed and their families who are left behind.

"We have a lot of work left to do."