As shootings fall, Adams honors city’s anti-violence workers

Mayor Eric Adams gave nearly 30 anti-violence organizations a key to the city on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office

By Noah Powelson

Mayor Eric Adams on Monday heaped praise on the city’s anti-violence workers for helping to bring shootings in the five boroughs to a record low, an achievement he’s often credited to the work of the NYPD and his administration’s tough-on-crime approach.

In one of his final appearances as mayor, Adams handed keys to the city to nearly 30 groups that together form the city’s Crisis Management System, a network of violence prevention workers who attempt to mediate local conflicts and connect teens and young adults at risk of gun violence with city services.

Adams, who expanded CMS earlier in his term, said the work the organizations do in their neighborhoods often goes overlooked, but that it no doubt played a role in potentially bringing shootings down to their lowest point in the city’s recorded history this year.

“They do not have bulletproof vests, guns and backups – they have themselves, and they have stood tall and firm with a level of bravery that should be commended,” the mayor said from City Hall, where around a dozen CMS providers and NYPD officials stood with him. “All these men and women here, they were left off the pages of history. Historically, no one gave them the respect that they deserve.”

Seven organizations from Queens received a key to the city from the mayor on Monday for their involvement in CMS, including 100 Suits for 100 Men, Community Capacity Development, King of Kings Foundation, Inc., Life Camp, Inc., Queens Royal Priesthood, Inc., Wheelchairs Against Gun Violence, Where Do We Go From Here.

Also given a key was the Legal Aid Society.

“This honor belongs to the communities we serve and to the dedicated people who show up every day to keep one another safe,” said Anthony Posada, the supervising attorney with the Community Justice Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “As part of New York City’s Crisis Management System, we are proud to work alongside trusted community partners to prevent violence, support healing after trauma, and build safety rooted in care, dignity, and trust. This work saves lives and strengthens neighborhoods across our city.”

The city’s CMS was first created a little more than a decade ago by then-City Councilmember Jumaane Williams.

The organizations involved in the system send credible messengers into New York City neighborhoods that account for a disproportionate amount of the city’s shootings and have them mediate and de-escalate conflicts, and connect residents with city resources.

Mayor Eric Adams touted his administration’s work to reduce gun violence in what may have been his final press conference of his term.  Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office

Seen as an alternative to traditional police work, the CMS was expanded by former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who doubled the amount of CMS providers working in the city, in 2021, his final year in office. Adams increased its funding, further expanding it in 2023.

The program has shown positive results.

According to a March 2025 report from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s office, CMS programs reduced gun violence by 21 percent where they were deployed from 2012 through 2024.

But the program hasn’t been run without faults. According to the same report, the city has a limited ability to fully evaluate CMS’ effectiveness and the work performed by the organizations. Additionally, the nonprofit providers often face long delays in getting paid. Average wait times for reimbursements increased from 130 days in 2016 to 255 days in 2024, according to the report.

While Adams praised CMS providers' work on Monday, he also spent a significant portion of what may be his final press conference touting the work of the NYPD, the agency he began his public service career in.

He credited NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and her “data-driven precision policing strategy” for the city’s declining crime numbers. The city is on pace to see its lowest level of shootings ever in 2025. The first 11 months of the year saw the lowest number of shooting incidents and victims ever recorded in an 11-month span, according to the mayor.

Tisch, who will remain police commissioner when Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani takes office on Jan. 1, said the city was at one of “the safest points in modern history.”

“It reflects a city where stability has returned to neighborhoods and communities, and where the sense of disorder is receding,” she said.

Adams, who has frequently criticized Mamdani’s public safety platform, turned his eyes to the incoming administration during his remarks and demanded that they continue in his approach.

“We will continue to be dogmatic about taking the illegal guns off the street up until my last day in office,” Adams said. “And the next administration should ensure that they too start the year by saying public safety is a prerequisite to prosperity.”