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Bronx leaders and community organizations accepted two checks for $3 million each on Tuesday to support programs aimed at reducing gun violence through several hot spots in the Bronx.<\/p>\n
Photo: Sadie Brown<\/p>\n
New York Governor Kathy Hochul presented twin checks for $3 million each Tuesday at the Davidson Community Center in the West Bronx to fund two community programs tackling gun violence in the Bronx.<\/p>\n
District Attorney Darcel Clark and Council Member Pierina Ana Sanchez accepted the grants totaling $6 million for the Bronx Restore program and the West Bronx Community Safety Partnership. Hochul highlighted that while shootings in the borough were down over 20% from 2024, the Bronx is still experiencing disproportionately high rates of gun violence<\/a> that need to be addressed.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aWe still have far too many victims of crimes,\u201d Hochul said. \u201cIf you\u2019re the family that suffered the loss of a loved one, you don\u2019t care about statistics. You\u2019re thinking about the pain and the loss of that loved one who\u2019s no longer with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Both initiatives aim to stop gun violence before it starts by addressing its root causes through providing resources to neighborhoods with high rates of gun violence and support to young people in the Bronx.<\/p>\n One of the $3 million checks will launch Bronx Restore, a program which will engage young people from the 40th Precinct in the South Bronx and the 46th Precinct in the West Bronx. It will aim to provide them with mentorship, help with employment, stable housing and a stipend of $25 an hour for participating in the program, Clark said.<\/p>\n The program is modeled after a successful pilot program in Bed Stuy<\/a> with Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, Columbia University and the nonprofit Bridge Street Development Corporation. Clark said that she was confident that the investment would move the needle in addressing gun violence in the borough.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aWe\u2019re all concerned about the shootings in the Bronx, but this is our home,\u201d Clark said. \u201cThis is where we live; this is where we work; this is where we send our kids to school; this is where we use our parks. We have to do everything we can to reduce violence.\u201d<\/p>\n The second investment will support the West Bronx Community Safety Partnership (WBCSP), a coalition of 50 organizations and elected officials convened by Sanchez to coordinate community level solutions to stop gun violence.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aTogether these investments will show that public safety isn\u2019t just about policing, but it\u2019s about partnership, trust, and about giving our young people the tools and opportunities they deserve,\u201d Council Member Sanchez said.<\/p>\n Sanchez, other representatives from the West Bronx like Assemblymember Landon Dais, State Senator Robert Jackson and local community organizations like Good Shepherd Services and Women\u2019s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco) formed the WBCSP in 2024 out of their concern over the high rates of gun violence in the area.<\/p>\n Sanchez said that 20 lawmakers came together to seek funding from Albany to support their ongoing efforts to put an end to gun violence in the Bronx. \u201c\u200aSometimes we can\u2019t even agree what color the sky is, but we agreed on this,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n Now, violence interrupters in the partnership like David Caba, the program director at Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence (B.R.A.G.) told the Bronx Times that the money from Albany is going to support on-the-ground, community driven programs that will provide resources to people who are at risk of being involved in gun violence.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aWhen you provide these resources to our community, particularly our young people and their families, everything else improves,\u201d Caba said. \u201cAll those improvements of socioeconomic conditions drive down crime statistics. It is proven.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, according to Caba, successfully reducing gun violence in the West Bronx and across the city will take more than a single influx of cash.\n<\/p>\n \u201dThere are partners in over 40 sites in the five boroughs in New York City doing similar work to what B.R.A.G does,\u201d Caba said. \u201cIt needs more investment. It needs more expansion. There\u2019s so much more that we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n Reach Sadie Brown at sbrown@schnepsmedia.com<\/a> or (214) 994-6723. For more coverage, subscribe to our\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t