Editorial
Op-ed
Blooming with bullets
May started with a bang in New
York — but not in the good way.
We’re talking about the continued
plague of shootings that has persisted in
New York last summer. More than a dozen
incidents of gun violence occurred during the
36 hours of May 2021, primarily in Brooklyn.
\In speaking with police sources about
why these shootings are happening, they
often don’t have an answer right away. But
they do tell us, on far too many occasions,
that many victims of gun violence aren’t very
forthcoming with detectives. Some refuse to
cooperate with investigators at all.
Both the silence and the refusal are deafening.
It makes their communities, their city,
less safe.
Since the shooting surge began last year,
the NYPD has fought hard to try to stem
the tide. They’re making hundreds of gun
arrests every month. They work diligently
to get guns off the streets.
Still, the shootings will not stop. During
the fi rst three months of 2021, the NYPD
logged 253 shootings — an average of 2.8
shootings a day.
The incidents ebbed for a while during
the fall and winter as the weather turned
colder; even criminals have their limits when
it comes to weather. Now, the bloody, bulletridden
tide is coming in again as the warmer
weather arrives and the days grow longer.
In the weeks and months ahead, especially
as we focus on reopening in full, the NYPD
will need to work even harder to keep the
streets safe.
No community in New York City should
have to experience gun violence. One shooting,
one assault victim, one murder victim is
Want to create good jobs
in areas hit by COVID-19?
Follow NYC’s lead
one too many. The people of this city must
stand up and reject this gun violence; they
must not accept this as the norm any longer.
We applaud and support the community
peacekeeping groups who are looking to stop
the stem of violence where they live through
organization and community activity. They
play a crucial component in the city’s effort
to keep the streets safe, and they should be
relied upon as heavily as the NYPD going
forward.
The answer is not vigilantism, nor is it
to blame politicians and run away from the
problem — nor is it to be silent in the face
of bloodshed.
The answer is that each of us must work
together to keep New York City safe, and
realize that job isn’t solely the NYPD’s
responsibility. BY J. PHILLIP THOMPSON AND
Publisher of The Villager, Villager Express, Chelsea Now,
Downtown Express and Manhattan Express
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VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
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New York Press Association
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Minority Women Business Enterprise
GARY LABARBERA
The COVID-19 crisis has caused the
greatest economic crisis since the
Great Depression. Working New
Yorkers have felt the pain day after day
and are wondering how to plan a career
and future for their families during these
uncertain times.
The answer must come from what has
always worked in times of economic crisis:
a mutual commitment from government,
labor leaders and industry to bring opportunity
to working people. Generations of
New Yorkers have risen up from poverty
to the middle class by working for the
City and for the City’s vendors. This is
especially true with respect to construction
industry, where City contracts have
historically created new opportunities for
work, and in doing so, built the nation’s
greatest city from the ground up.
As New York City recovers from this
crisis, we’re ready to do that again. The
City is now proposing to incorporate into
nearly every contract –from paper and
pencils to software and medical gear to
buildings and ferries– goals for vendors
to hire low-income people, or people from
low-income neighborhoods and public
housing facilities.
This is not an ideological pipedream.
Indeed, this proposal builds upon the
PHOTO BY REUTERS/NICK OXFORD
historic Project Labor Agreement, which
was negotiated between the Building
Trades Council and the City of New York
and already establishes some elements
of this proposal in the construction
industry.
We now propose expanding this model
to a far broader range of contracts beyond
the work we have done in the construction
industry.
This proposal will transform our City.
Estimates show 40,000 jobs would be reserved
each year for low-income people and
residents of low-income neighborhoods
and public housing facilities. Taxpayer
dollars will be used to help families and
neighborhoods emerge from the pandemic
stronger than ever.
The best anti-poverty program is a good
job, and this proposal, which requires
approval by the State Legislature, will
convert the billions of dollars that the
City spends each year into a job creation
machine for poor people and people from
disadvantaged areas. The COVID crisis
challenged us in every way imaginable. But
we will come back stronger, if we focus
on making our economy fairer and more
inclusive for working people.
J. Phillip Thompson is the Deputy
Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives and
Gary LaBarbera is the President of the
Building and Construction Trades Council
of Greater New York.
8 May 6, 2021 Schneps Media
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