Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced this week that 646 jobs will be available for at-risk youth across nine zip codes in Manhattan.
The announcement comes after Cuomo kicked off a series of community meetings held in emerging gun violence hot spots across the state, where state officials and community leaders are carving out initiatives to address the ongoing gun violence.
The initiatives focus on engaging the most at-risk youth in cluster zones in employment and community activities, hiring new community-based gun violence interrupters, as well as assistance for mental health and substance use disorders.
“We cannot have a recovery in New York unless people feel safe here, and with these community-driven initiatives we are making available the work opportunities and services that can protect vulnerable New Yorkers from the gun violence epidemic,” said Cuomo. “This crisis will not get resolved on its own, and that is why we are bringing everyone to the table and figuring out the specific needs of communities in Manhattan and elsewhere, with insight from residents who know their neighborhood better than anyone.”
Manhattan has seen an increase in crime compared to last year. Shooting incidents, in particular, are up. According to New York Police Department crime statistics, there have been 142 shooting incidents compared to 103 through the same date last year. There have also been 2,423 felony assaults in Manhattan this year compared to 1,962 to this time in 2020.
Overall, felony crime is up. There have been 12,850 felony crimes in Manhattan compared to 12,598 felonies at this point last year.
“We cannot have a recovery in New York unless people feel safe here, and with these community-driven initiatives we are making available the work opportunities and services that can protect vulnerable New Yorkers from the gun violence epidemic,” Said Governor Cuomo. “This crisis will not get resolved on its own, and that is why we are bringing everyone to the table and figuring out the specific needs of communities in Manhattan and elsewhere, with insight from residents who know their neighborhood better than anyone.”
Of the jobs for at-risk youth between the ages of 15-24, 324 are temporary summer jobs and 322 are long-term jobs created in partnership with Consortium for Worker Education, a non-profit organization.
The increase in crime has spurred comments from both candidates for mayor, Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa. Mayor de Blasio has frequently suggested that as the City continues to recover, crime will drop.
Cuomo recently issued Executive Order No. 211, which declared gun violence to be a state-wide emergency.
New York became the first state in the nation to do that and it was done in an effort to treat gun violence as a public health crisis. It also allows the State to expedite funding and resources to communities in these cluster zones of gun violence.
