Editorial
Op-ed
Our complex crime problem
Within a few days, the NYPD
will release its crime statistics
for May — and barring some
unforeseen circumstance, we can expect
it to include yet another shooting increase.
May 2021 ended on Memorial Day with
a dozen people shot across the city — including
a 15-year-old boy gunned down in
Harlem and fi ve people who took gunshots
in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Gang violence is
suspected in these and other recent shootings,
yet despite the pressure that the
NYPD has brought to bear on these crimes,
New Yorkers keep getting shot.
Why does this keep happening? Ask
different people in government, and you’ll
get vastly different answers.
Mayor Bill de Blasio points to two
pandemic related factors — the angst of
residents kept largely confi ned to their
homes for the better part of a year, and an
interrupted and slowed court system.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea says
it comes down to bail reform laws that went
too far and gave judges no choice other
than to let violent offenders back out on
the street shortly after arraignment.
The answers are even more varying from
those aspiring to become the city’s next
mayor. Brooklyn Borough President Eric
Adams, former Sanitation Commissioner
Kathryn Garcia and entrepreneur Andrew
Yang have intimated the NYPD needs to be
more proactive in battling violent crime,
while more progressive candidates like
Comptroller Scott Stringer and civil rights
attorney Maya Wiley want the NYPD to do
less while investing more resources in rooting
out systemic causes of criminal activity.
Let’s be clear: Going back to the way the
NYPD was, or subtracting the NYPD from
the equation almost completely, are not the
answers to this city’s gun violence problem.
The NYPD has successfully battled back
crime before, and it can do so again, with
the array of reforms that have been made,
and are being made. Communities and the
NYPD must work together to help get guns
off the streets.
State and city lawmakers must also work
to tighten the penal code so violent offenders
aren’t freed through legal loopholes
and technicalities. Greater resources must
also be invested in mental health and rehabilitation
programs to fi nally give troubled
individuals the help they need.
Our complex crime problem requires
a multi-faceted approach. No one answer
is necessarily right or wrong; all must be
considered to help make our city safe.
Publisher of The Villager, Villager Express, Chelsea Now,
Downtown Express and Manhattan Express
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VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA SCHNEPS
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DEAN MOSES
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A summer of renewal
for our students
BY SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR
MEISHA PORTER
This year has demanded that all New
York City families and students do
so many things differently—they’ve
had to think differently, learn differently,
and connect differently with teachers,
peers, and the whole school community. At
the Department of Education, we know we
also have to think differently as we look
towards the summer. For the fi rst time
ever, we are inviting all students to join
us for a free, fun-fi lled, enriching summer
program: Summer Rising.
This year, we will serve any student in
grades K-12 in July and August who wants
to participate, and I am excited to be
partnered with the Department of Youth
& Community Development to reimagine
what summer can be. Our children’s days
will be fi lled with innovative academic
support, social-emotional learning, and
engaging enrichment activities. These
programs will be designed by school teams
in partnership with local community-based
organizations and offered in hundreds of
sites across all fi ve boroughs.
After all the trauma and disruptions
caused by the pandemic over the past 15
months, our children need a chance to reboot
their education in fun and supportive
ways as we approach the full reopening
of our schools in September.It is time to
begin regaining what the pandemic took
away.Summer Rising is an opportunity to
do just that, creating spaces for students
to learn, grow, play, and explore the City
around them – from fi eld trips to Central
Park and museums to dance and art classes.
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
Summer Rising will also provide an enormous
relief to families by keeping children
safe, supported, and productive this summer.
After enduring months when so many of our
students were isolated from their teachers
and peers, the opportunity to rebuild those
face-to-face relationships will do so much to
support their healing process and prepare
them for returning to school in the fall.
All K–8 students participating in programs
will have access to academic classes
and enrichment programming, including
fi eld trips, arts activities and outdoor recreation.
Students will also engage in daily
community building and social emotional
learning activities. We know some students
with disabilities may require additional supports
to participate in Summer Rising, and
those supports will be provided as needed.
In addition, Summer Rising is a chance for
high school students to complete courses in
progress, make up credits to march towards
graduation, and participate in academic acceleration
opportunities. They will also be
able to engage in important work experience
and internship opportunities, like the Summer
Youth Employment Program.
As always, health and safety remain a
top priority. Summer Rising will follow the
rigorous health protocols that succeeded in
keeping our schools among the safest places
in the city this school year. To support these
efforts, parents will need to complete a testing
consent form for their child so we can
keep everyone healthy and safe!
To learn more about the options available
for your child or to sign up, go tonyc.
gov/summerrising.All programs are free,
in-person, and have something to offer for
everyone.
8 June 3, 2021 Schneps Media
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