Mayor Mamdani announces $4.8M expansion of community-based violence prevention

Mayor Mamdani expanding a city program aimed at stopping shootings before they even happen. Natalie Hernandez explains what this means for the neighborhoods and his public safety agenda. Stopping conflicts before they turn deadly with help from the people who know their neighborhoods best. I think the key to the violence interruption work is having people with lived experience work with people with lived experience. Southside United operates the WIC Against Violence in Bushwick. Now getting additional support through an expansion of the city's crisis management system. Mayor Momdani announced $4.8 million split between Bushwick, Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood. These funds will support our outreach workers and violence interrupters as they tackle the cause of violence at its root. On street corners and bus stops, on park benches and at bodega counters, mediating conflicts before they become deadly. In Bushwick, the investment builds on the WIC's work at Woodhill Hospital and Bushwick Houses. Workers help prevent retaliation after violent incidents and connect residents with jobs, education, and mental health services. Nobody wants the violence to stop more than the communities that have them. The announcement also brought a reminder of the losses these workers face. Mayor Mamdani honored CMS partner Antoine Utzi, who was killed last month in Brownsville. For Ramos, prevention also means building connections between neighbors. Sometimes it's putting literally the word neighbor back into neighborhood. You know, neighbors caring about neighbors. The money is already in the city's budget, and the next step is turning that funding into more help on the streets and showing New Yorkers how it can keep them safe. From Bushwick, Natalie Hernandez, News 12.