COURIER LIFE, AUG. 9-15, 2019 27
Shooting prompts
city investment
in Brownsville
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
The city will spend
almost $9 million to revitalize
social services and
other local resources in
Brownsville — including
more than $5 million
to renovate a neighborhood
community center
— in response to the
mass shooting that left
one dead and 11 injured
last month, Mayor Bill
de Blasio announced on
Tuesday.
“Our hearts ache for
Brownsville; but this
community will be defi
ned by resilience, not
tragedy,” said de Blasio.
“These programs will
build on our commitment
to end the epidemic
of gun violence and lend
much needed support
to the local leaders and
activists who work to
bring positive, enduring
change to the Brownsville
community each
and every day.“
More than half of the
newly allocated money
— $5.2 million — will
go toward the restoration
of the Brownsville
Houses Community Center
at Blake Avenue near
Mother Gaston Boulevard,
which is one of 15
public housing locations
designated as a hub for
de Blasio’s Action Plan
for Neighborhood Safety,
which provides tools and
social workers to combat
the root causes of crime.
The remaining $3.23
million will be used to
augment other anti-violence
and safety programs
throughout the
community, including:
• $1 million to expand
an anti-gun violence
program operated out of
the 73rd Precinct, called
the Crisis Management
System, which deploys
trained mediators into
communities in order to
settle confl icts and connect
high-risk individuals
with services.
• $1 million to enhance
response times
for the Department of
Health’s Brooklyn Action
Center in the event
of emergencies, including
violent crimes, extreme
weather, fi res,
and other environmental
hazards.
• $590,000 for youth
education programs
through Brownsville
Neighborhood Youth-
Stat, a group which
trains youngsters in
skills needed to identify
and diffuse dangerous
situations.
• $576,000 to hire 12
additional staff members
at the Brownsville
Recreation Center,
who will oversee additional
programming, expanded
pool hours, and
security.
• $140,000 to install
new security cameras
and street lights around
the neighborhood.
The investment follows
a mass shooting
at the Old Timers Day
block party near Hegeman
Avenue and Sackman
Street, when multiple
gunmen opened
fi re into a crowd of about
2,000 on July 27, striking
a dozen partygoers and
killing 38-year-old Jason
Pagan.
That tragedy came
amid a backdrop of increased
gun violence
in the area — including
Brownsville, East
New York, and Crown
Heights — where gun violence
has increased by
over 10 percent over last
year, according to police
statistics.
State Sen. Zellnor
Myrie (D-Brownsville)
applauded the mayor’s
investment in Brownsville
for focusing on the
underlying sources of
crime.
“For years, while the
city’s funds for policing
have steadily risen,
funding to address the
root causes of violence
have been a drop in the
bucket,” he said. “This
new funding marks a
welcome investment in
the holistic and community
driven anti-violence
work that brings
our communities help
and hope they need.”
MAX