Gotham Gazette

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gun violence

gun violence

  • Hochul, Legislature Look to Allocate $337 Million to Fight Gun Violence; Where's It Going?

    Gov. Hochul discusses gun violence prevention funding plans (photo: Governor's Office)


    Acrimony in state budget talks over bail and discovery reform belies broad agreement between Governor Kathy Hochul and the Legislature on putting more than $330 million toward combating gun violence.

    Shootings have always plagued New York's cities but became a major public focus in recent years amid a pandemic-era spike in gun violence following decades of decline. Four out of five shooting victims in New York City are Black, most of

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  • My Son is Gone, But the Pain Remains; Here’s How I Got Help and Help Others

    Mothers who have lost children to gun violence (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    When I lost my son Keondre to gun violence last year, my whole life came crashing down. At only 18, Keondre was senselessly shot multiple times. He went into the neighborhood deli, and he never came out.  

    Though I didn’t give birth to him, I raised him. He was with me from the time he was four years old.  

    My memories of Keondre replay over and over again. I remember his bright spirit. How

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  • 'The Dirty Little Secret No One Tells You': New York ATF Chief Details Roadblocks and Progress in Fight to Disrupt Gun Violence

    A gun seizure (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    When talking about gun violence in northeastern states like New York, elected and law enforcement officials often say that guns arrive via the “Iron Pipeline,” short-hand for the I-95 corridor where firearms smuggled from southern states with laxer gun laws to the northeast.

    But the reality is much more complex, according to John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

    During remarks Thursday at a conference hosted by City & State New York,

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  • Taking Aim at Gun Violence: We Need Action from All 3 Levels of Government

    At the scene of a subway shooting (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Like all New Yorkers, I was shocked and horrified by the recent subway shooting. 

    Gun violence in New York City has skyrocketed over the past two years. Reported crime citywide has increased by 41% since the beginning of the year over the same period last year. Shootings increased by 31.6% in January alone. Attacks on city subways have gone up as well, with felony assaults in the subway rising by 25% since 2019. These crimes have a particularly

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  • Gun Violence is The Crime Problem

    Mayor Adams & President Biden discuss gun violence (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    In 2020, there were 375,800 fewer serious crimes in America compared to 2019, about a 5% decline. Amidst the overall decline, one specific type of crime ran counter to trend: murders, most of which are committed with guns, were up by 5,000, a rise of nearly 30%.

    How should we think about these statistics? Should we be happy that serious crime is down or concerned about the increase in homicides? We argue this trend is actually bad news overall. As Berkeley criminologists Franklin Zimring and Gordon

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  • Stemming Violence by Investing in Civic Goods

    Summer Youth Employment Program rally (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)


    The criminal justice system is not the only entity that contributes to public safety. There is evidence from across the United States on “civic goods” — interventions, unrelated to the criminal justice system, that have been shown to have meaningful effects on violent crime in the short- to medium-term. 

    Interventions for Children and Teens
    Many kids don’t feel safe going to school each day due to violent crime....

  • More Cops in the City Won’t Solve What's a National Gun Violence Spike

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    The mayor at a policing press conference (Mayor's Office)


    People joke that New Yorkers think our city is the center of the universe, but judging by the recent media coverage, you’d think the rest of the country fell off the map. As we respond to the heartbreaking surge in shootings, many are quick to link the trend to civil rights protections like bail reform or the repeal of the controversial police secrecy statute 50-a. But the truth is that this isn’t a New York City problem, it’s a national crisis, ...

  • In First Two Mayoral Campaign Plans, Maya Wiley Takes on Preventing Gun Violence and Evictions

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    Maya Wiley at her campaign launch (photo: Gotham Gazette)


    Democratic mayoral candidate Maya Wiley released her first two detailed policy plans last month, and they focus on two pressing issues in New York City: preventing gun violence and evictions. While shootings and murders spiked in 2020 in New York City, as they did in many other cities across the country, residential evictions would have as well if not for preventative government measures — namely an eviction moratorium, which New York State recently extended through at least April for those who have

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  • As Gun Violence Increases, So Does Disagreement Over De Blasio's Response

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    Mayor de Blasio & NYPD Commissioner Shea (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    As New York City continues to see an increase in gun violence, concentrated largely in Brooklyn and the Bronx, Mayor Bill de Blasio and his police department have gone with a familiar playbook of shifting resources to hot spots, holding gun buy-backs, and coordinating with community groups that seek to prevent shootings in vulnerable neighborhoods. But as shootings and murders have jumped by especially large numbers amid the pandemic, its resulting mass unemployment, and a

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  • Little Support for De Blasio's Claim that Court Shutdown is Driving Gun Violence Surge

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    De Blasio and Shea discuss public safety (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea are marooned on an island with few substantive details to sustain their claim that one of the biggest drivers of New York City's recent increase in gun violence is a pandemic-stalled court system.

    The two have repeatedly offered largely unsupported claims that the coronavirus-related suspension of grand juries and a slow-down in gun offense prosecutions has made the courts a major contributor to the surge in shootings throughout the

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Public Advocate Jumaane Williams on Gun Violence & Police Reform

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    Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (photo: Emil Cohen/City Council)


    July 22, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Jumaane Williams on Gun Violence & Police Reform

    Public Advocate Jumaane Williams joined the show to discuss his recommendations for reducing gun violence in the city, the next steps on police reform, whether the mayor should replace his police commissioner, and more.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMax

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: A 'Mass Shooting' in Brownsville & the Community Response, with Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel

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    (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    July 31, 2019 - Max & Murphy Podcast: A Mass Shooting in Brownsville & the Community Response

    cm alicka wbaiCity Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel joined the show to discuss the "mass shooting" that occured in her district on Saturday night at the end of a traditional, celebratory community block party, how the community is responding, and what

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  • From Awareness to Action: Combating The Epidemic of Gun Violence

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    Jumaane Williams, co-author, center (photo: @JumaaneWilliams)


    Throughout June, we observed Gun Violence Awareness Month. In the year since we last marked this occasion, 33,000 people lost their lives to gun violence in this country. A mass shooting of four or more casualties occurred nearly every day of that year, and just last week, five people were killed and two injured as a shooter opened fire on an Annapolis newsroom. Over the course of the month about 3,000 people were killed. Over 200 were children.

    The statistics are staggering, but at the

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  • The Urban Agenda Our Growing Cities Demand

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    Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, the author (photo via @BPEricAdams)


    Communities like what we have in Brooklyn represent the future of the United States — vibrant places where people from around the world come to achieve their ambitions.

    After many years in which many of our great cities declined in stature, young professionals and couples now want to build their careers and start families in urban America, and older adults want to enjoy their golden years in cities as well. I often say that there are only two kinds

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  • City to Open Gun Courts to Expedite Prosecutions

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    A gun bust (photo: @NYCMayorsOffice)


    In an effort to reduce gun violence and gun-related crimes, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton says the city intends to create specialized “gun courts” in each of the five boroughs. Gun courts will expedite the handling of gun-related cases to more quickly identify and imprison those who use guns illegally.

    The head of the Citizens Crime Commission, Richard Aborn, has been working on the initiative for several months, leading toward an upcoming announcement, Bratton said during a radio interview

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