Dear New Yorker,
Gun violence has become an unrelenting fact of life for too many families across New York City. It's time for that to change.
This past week the New York City Council announced the formation of a new task force to help us combat the recent wave of youth-related gun violence rocking many of our communities.
Working with academic experts, law enforcement and community-based groups around the five boroughs, the task force will look closely at the root causes of gun violence in our communities and develop proposals for tackling the problem citywide.
This announcement comes in response to several recent shootings involving New York City youth. It also builds on our previous efforts to combat violence, including our ongoing partnership with the Center to Prevent Youth Violence and Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E. Through this partnership, we've successfully installed a new hotline in several public schools that students can call to anonymously report threats of violence. (For more info, click here .)
The Task Force to Combat Gun Violence will begin meeting in the upcoming weeks. As part of their outreach to local communities, the task force members will be talking to residents about their experiences and how they can get more involved in our efforts to reduce gun violence.
It's important for us to hear from you and other New Yorkers about this critical issue. If you have any questions or feedback or would like to learn about this new task force, please feel free to contact Sal Arrona in the City Council's Governmental Affairs Division. He can be reached by phone at (212) 788-7301 or by email at sarrona@council.nyc.gov .
Thanks in advance for helping us make New York City a safer place for us all. We'll be sure to keep you updated on the task force's progress going forward.
Sincerely,
Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
NYC Council
Jumaane D. Williams
Co-Chair, Taskforce to Combat Gun Violence
NYC Council
Fernando Cabrera
Co-Chair, Taskforce to Combat Gun Violence
NYC Council