New York City mayoral candidate Maya Wiley kicked off her “50 Ideas for NYC” initiative, highlighting her ideas to make a better NYC for everyone.
The first idea from Wiley is Gun Violence Prevention. According to Wiley, gun violence in New York City is at a five-year high. However, gun violence doesn’t affect every NYC neighborhood. The neighborhoods with the highest gun violence rates include Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant and East New York neighborhoods and the Grand Concourse/Highbridge neighborhood in the Bronx.
Wiley knows that both of these neighborhoods are also experiencing the greatest economic pain of the COVID pandemic.
“We must recognize gun violence for what it is, a public health crisis built on the failure to address racial inequity,” Wiley said release on her plan. “This means we can fix what ails us. We have innovative and effective violence interruption programs in communities. And we have other community-based services providers, community and faith leaders and engaged residents who have experience, relationships, ideas and know-how.”
Wiley’s gun violence prevention plan includes empowering and supporting impacted communities to create innovative solutions; guaranteeing meaningful employment opportunities for those at risk to be involved in gun violence and creating expanding and existing workforce development and education programs in communities experiencing high rates of gun violence.
According to the release, the plan would be paid for by the redirection of NYPD and/or Department of Corrections funds, money collected from asset forfeitures, and savings from a reduction in public hospital shooting costs.
The Columbia and Dartmouth graduate also plans on establishing a participatory justice fund so those who live in these communities can identify and implement solutions to reduce gun violence.
The Wiley administration would create an $18 million participatory justice process in communities that are dealing with high rates of gun violence by allocating money to communities by rates of gun violence to boost existing programs and create new programs that have proven track records of success.
Wiley’s campaign has been endorsed by 1199 SEIU, the New York Progressive Action Network, and Democracy for America.