NEW YORK, N.Y. — Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Tuesday that New York City will spend $4.8 million to grow its street-level gun violence prevention network in Bushwick, Harlem and Washington Heights/Inwood, using money already set aside in the budget.
The dollars flow through the city’s Crisis Management System, which pays trained outreach workers to cool down disputes, head off revenge shootings and steer people at risk toward jobs and counseling.
Each of the three areas gets $1.6 million for the fiscal year. Together that pays for 42 new jobs, among them 30 credible messengers, so each neighborhood team will pair 10 messengers with a small support staff that handles management, office work, community ties, and school and job placement.
In Bushwick, the money builds on an existing anti-violence program run by Southside United. In Harlem, it widens Living Redemption’s outreach and mentoring work. Washington Heights and Inwood get a brand-new outreach team through a United Way program, since northern Manhattan had no such coverage before.
With the addition, the system will cover 49 neighborhood areas, up from 46, and reach 31 police precincts instead of 29. City Hall did not set a start date, saying hiring and training come first, though Bushwick could move faster because its provider is already in place.
Mamdani made the announcement in Bushwick and honored an outreach worker who was shot and killed at a Brownsville playground last month. He said he was confident the city can fill the new positions despite the risks the work carries.
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