New Uptown Gun Violence Prevention Task Force: What To Know

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — An Upper Manhattan gun violence prevention task force is being unveiled this weekend, along with a corresponding neighborhood March to End Gun Violence.

The announcement of the gun-violence prevention task force comes shortly after rookie NYPD officer and Inwood native Jason Rivera and his partner Wilbert Mora were gunned down in Harlem.

State Senator Robert Jackson and Northern Manhattan community members will introduce the Uptown Gun Prevention Taskforce Sunday at 9:45 a.m. within The Amistad Dual Language School on 4862 Broadway.

During the press conference on Sunday, the task force will present its "emerging blueprint to pave the way for a holistic approach to violence prevention, a series of action plans to address the uptick in violence as a public health crisis with short-term solutions and long-term strategies."

"The Uptown Gun Prevention Task Force was initiated by our office in response to increased concerns about gun violence," Jackson said in a statement to Patch. "It was imperative to create an uptown-centered coalition that would pave the way for a holistic approach to violence prevention. The Task Force is open to any uptown community member who’s here to do the collaborative work of ending gun violence in Northern Manhattan.”

Shooting incidents and victims are both types of crime that have gone up in Upper Manhattan over the past couple of years.

For the 33rd Precinct, which goes from West 155th to 179th Streets, shooting victims went from eight in 2020 to 18 in 2021. Whereas total shooting incidents went from eight in 2020 to 16 in 2021, meaning that multiple people were shot in some of the incidents.

• Read More: Did Crime Go Up In Wash Heights And Inwood In 2021? A Breakdown

The jump in gun-violence crimes in the 33rd Precinct was even bigger from 2019 (pre-pandemic) to 2021.

• Shooting Victims - 2019 compared to 2021: +157.1 percent
• Shooting Incidents - 2019 compared to 2021: +166.7 percent

When looking at any data set, it's important to remember that when the sample size is small — percentage increases or decreases can be skewed to seem much larger or smaller than they actually are.

The same trends are seen in the 34th Precinct.

"New Yorkers feel as though a sea of violence is engulfing our city but as your mayor I promise you I will not let this happen we will not surrender our city," Mayor Eric Adams said in a recent press conference about gun violence.

Here are the uptown organizations taking part in the gun-violence prevention task force getting unveiled on Sunday:

• Harlem Mother Saves
• The Washington Heights Woman's Walking Crew
• Met Council on Housing
• Uptown's Team Dreamers
• Artistic Noise
• Girl Scouts Troop 3205
• Inwood Community Services
• Inwood Indivisible
• YM & YWHA
• Buunni Coffee
• Viva Uptown/Youth-Police Roundtable
• Everyday Christian Church and Uptown Community Church
• CEC 6
• President's Council

The press conference within the Amistad Dual Language School and the following march are open to the public.

The march route will go from The Amistad Dual Language School on 4862 Broadway in Inwood, down Broadway to the 34th Precinct station, up West 182nd Street to the WHEELS school, and conclude at 176th Street.