114th Precinct House (Google Maps)
March 15, 2021 By Allie Griffin
The city is launching a new community-based pilot program to prevent gun violence in five precincts across the city–including the Queens precinct where a 37-year-old woman was killed Friday by a stray bullet.
The program, called the Advance Peace Model, will start in July and pair at-risk youth with individual mentors who will counsel them and help them achieve higher goals, such as obtaining a GED.
The pilot will begin in one precinct per borough, with the 114th Precinct that covers Astoria and sections of Long Island City and Woodside being selected for Queens.
The announcement, made today by Mayor Bill de Blasio and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams at a press briefing, follows a deadly weekend in the city and a spike in the number of shootings over the past year.
On Friday night, in the 114th Precinct, a 37-year-old mother of two was killed by a stray bullet near the Woodside Houses.
“We lost some people just this weekend — Gudelia Vallinas, 37, hit by a stray bullet in Queens,” Williams said during the press briefing. “These stories are too common; I can’t begin to imagine… the pain that family is dealing with right now and we’ve seen and felt that pain over and over and over again.”
Williams said that the rise in gun violence is a public health crisis. The city, he said, must invest in the marginalized communities to support residents and prevent violence.
“We have to implement strategies that support community safety, treat community trauma and build community strength,” he said.
Through the pilot, the city will conduct outreach efforts in areas with high levels of gun violence to identify at-risk youth. Those individuals will then be invited to join the Peacemaker fellowship which pairs the young people with mentors in the neighborhood.
The fellowship will set tangible goals for participants, such as obtaining a driver’s license or getting their GED. When they obtain a goal, they’ll receive a monetary stipend through the program.
The city is shaping the program after the Advance Peace Model launched in California. A study of the model implemented in Sacramento showed a 27 percent reduction in gun violence in the program’s catchment area over two years.
The pilot will also be launched in the 46th Precinct in the Bronx, the 26th Precinct in Manhattan, the 73rd Precinct in Brooklyn and the 120th Precinct in Staten Island.
De Blasio said if the Advance Peace model proves successful in the pilot precincts, the city will expand it further to additional precincts.
“Policing matters, but the work of community members matters crucially and it needs to be elevated and uplifted,” he said. “It needs to be more about the part of the solution.”
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19 Comments
To NOT leave???
1) Life without parole for repeat offenders. No good time, no parole, absolutely no conjugal visits. The last thing society needs is for these losers to breed.
2) Free birth control for all, men or women. Vasectomies and tubal ligation included.
3) Free abortion, no questions asked.
just bring back stop and frisk it was much simpler. and before the wa wa group start jumping on my comment, well if the shoe fits….
The stop and frisk era was the safest time in NYC in recent memory. And let’s bring back broken windows policing. Then you will see all crimes, even the hate crimes decrease. Hopefully, we get a mayor who will concentrate on economic recovery instead of concentrating on patting his own back on his inept COVID response and trying to impeach a political rival.
Stop n frisk had an arrest rate of 12% and did not reduce crime. Cost the city millions in overtime and lawsuits.
WOW you’re out of the loop!
A lot of these at risk young men would be much better off if they had their own mentors, also known as FATHERS to provide stable, positive male role models and discipline at home. But that’s outdated, unfashionable thinking these days, I suppose.
@FD- Your post adds absolutely no value to the discussion, absolutely none. Everyone knows having a father as a positive role model in a child’s life is beneficial to the child and society as a whole. Your statement “ But that’s outdated, unfashionable thinking these days, I suppose” is utterly ridiculous.
Yes, because getting to the root of a problem adds “less value” to than some “progressive” feel-good solution that merely wallpapers over the cracks.
It’s because the traditional nuclear family is now vilified by the rainbow community. This is your traditional hatred by the left on any opposing views to theirs. And they use childish behavior and bully those with contrasting view points.
FD – keep posting. Your opinion counts and you started a discussion. So let’s discuss…
If everyone knows that a father figure is essential, then this wouldn’t be a problem. Fact of the matter is the parenting has declined as a whole. These young “ladies” are having babies in an early age and have multiple partners and multiple kids. And it’s not because they love kids, but because the system rewards has them with more and more government cheese with every kid they pop out. The lack of a positive male role model to these young “men” is further exacerbated by the fact that the left enables bad behavior. With bail reform, decriminalization of “non violent” crimes, and the fact that the left victimizes these people instead of uplifting them creates this problem. No supervision and discipline at home and the lack of consequences in real life creates these violent criminals. Absolutely no culpability for their actions. This why you have a lot of absentee fathers and career criminals. That’s why I applaud single mothers who work two or three jobs to better themselves and their kids while still pushing their kids to do well in school. No excuses attitude! They don’t wait for a handout and create opportunities for them and their kids.
Value added- Just because somebody knows something doesn’t mean they practice it. People know smoking is unhealthy but do it anyway. People know a poor diet causes health issues and don’t change their ways. Got the picture? The left “enables bad behavior” is an absurd statement. If this was the case then the issues in your rant would be lower in places that are right of the political spectrum, when the fact these issues are greater in scale in the right leaning places like the US South.
Aside from stating the obvious, you are completely wrong. The left run cities in the republican south are more populous and are the most dangerous. Look up Birmingham and Jackson. Nice try though.
Are you that gullible? Do you honestly believe the fathers who are neglecting and even abandoning their parental responsibilities and their children’s needs for parental guidance, don’t know their actions are detrimental to their children? Really?
are they going to send social workers to mediate gun violence? they’ll need full body armor.
The the Capitol Riot wouldn’t have happened
You might want to worry about the rising violence in the city under a Democrat mayor and city council .
Why doesn’t the Radical Right respect police?
They should pair you with a brain that works.
NOT gonna work. Are people really this naive?
They are paying youths to stay out of trouble and get a GED using tax payer money. What ever happened to social responsibility? Their parents failed teaching them and we get to pay for them reaching the bare minimum. But for smart kids they want to eliminate earning your way to a specialized high school with a lottery. That’s fair? I rather my tax payer money go to fund more cops.