Adams announces gun violence task force
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Mayor Eric Adams announced a new task force to tackle gun violence across the city on Thursday, June 2, 2022. Photo via Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
By Rachel Vick
Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday appointed the city’s first ever “gun violence czar,” to oversee the city’s response to recent high profile gun crime.
A.T. Mitchell, the founder and CEO of violence interruption group Man Up! And Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives Sheena Wright will lead the new Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, Adams announced through the issuance of an executive order on Thursday.
Combatting gun crime, which has seen a reduction this year but has increased over the past several years, has been a major fixture of the mayor’s agenda since taking office in January. The start of his term was marked by the shooting death of two NYPD officers in Manhattan.
The new unit will coordinate the city’s anti-gun violence response, among other duties, the mayor said.
“We've been in the field together for a long time… we've been doing this for a long time,” Adams said. “When people believe that folks of color want to normalize gun violence in their community they are wrong. This is a real issue we want to attack head on but what we don't want to do is minimize the complete picture that must be addressed.“
“By the time a person picks up a gun we've already failed,” he added. “We are going to help identify and advance upstream solutions to prevent gun violence by engaging with the communities most impacted by violence, identifying gaps in services, and getting them the resources to build them out.”
Members include First Deputy Mayor Lorraine Grillo, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phillip Banks, Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi, Deputy Mayor for Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom, New York City Police Department Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell, New York City Department of Education Chancellor David Banks and Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz.
The task force will be responsible for holding weekly meetings to evaluate anti-gun violence efforts across the five boroughs, ensure collaboration between city agencies and address the gaps they identify.
Every city agency will need to appoint a point person to serve as a liaison with the task force.
Members will also work with the Crisis Management System, which deploys mediators to de-escalate situations in the communities they’re based in.
Adams celebrated the shift to better include the agency in the city’s ongoing efforts to address gun violence and “the uniqueness of the CMS is that they can say they're not a part of the city [government].”
Between 2010 and 2019, CMS program areas have seen a 40 percent reduction in shootings, according to city data.
“We’re going to work hand in hand with communities to make sure we deliver the things they say they need, the things they want and [CMS] is trained to deliver,” Mitchell said during the announcement. “We're not miracle makers. We’re trained and disciplined in what we do… we will continue to do our part but can't put a finger on the time right now.”
Advocacy groups and local elected officials joined CMS providers to highlight the importance of wraparound services to violence prevention and cycle disruption.
“When we talk about what is happening in regard to gun violence in NYC, why it’s on the rise — it's COVID, it's the lack of resources,” said Erica Ford, the founder of Queens-based LIFE Camp, Inc.
