STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A Staten Island violence prevention organization was among 29 honored with keys to the city Monday.
True2Life, based out of Stapleton’s Central Family Life Center, received the key to the city from outgoing Mayor Eric Adams who praised their work as vital to helping achieve record lows for shootings through the first 11 months of the year.
Adams linked the record lows in violence to the 25,000 illegal guns city law enforcement has seized since the start of his administration in 2021.
“In a world where just one gun can tear an entire community apart, removing 25,000 of them has saved untold number of lives and kept families whole,” Adams said. “We know we cannot do this work alone, which is why we are proud to give the Key to the City to the 29 nonprofit providers in the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development’s Crises Management System program, who interrupt violence and keep communities safe every day. I hope their work will continue to grow and thrive so New Yorkers can continue to experience the safety and peace of mind they deserve.”
New York City launched its Crises Management System in 2012 under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration, and has subsequently increased its investment in the non-profit organizations around the city.
The organizations include networks of community leaders who mediate local conflicts, while working to connect young people most at risk of gun violence to mentorship and risk reduction plans. They also mobilize the community to promote peace and shift norms around the use of violence.
True2Life, led by New Brighton resident Mike Perry, works to resolve potentially violent disputes, while educating youth about their economic surroundings, the history of their community and the potential to break the cycle of crime and poverty.
The record citywide numbers have also included a historically low number of shooting incidents and murders during 2025, according to CompStat, NYPD’s crime-tracking system.
In the last week of the year, Staten Island is on pace to achieve its lowest murder rate since comprehensive records began in 1964.
“Removing illegal guns from our streets is one of the most important ways we protect lives, and the NYPD has stayed relentlessly focused on that mission,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “Since the start of the Adams administration, our officers have seized more than 25,000 illegal firearms — over 5,000 of them this year alone. That work has helped drive shooting incidents and shooting victims to their lowest levels ever, by far, in 2025. These results are not accidental; they reflect precision policing, smart deployment, and the commitment of officers who put themselves in harm’s way to keep communities safe. I’m grateful to Mayor Adams for making public safety a top priority, and to every member of the NYPD whose work continues to make New York City safer.”