TRANSCRIPT: On the Heels of Last Night's Shootings in the Bronx and Brooklyn, Andrew Cuomo Announces 5-Point Plan to Confront Gun Violence Epidemic
At the site of one of Monday night's multiple shootings in Brooklyn, where several New Yorkers were victims of gun violence, Andrew Cuomo, candidate for NYC mayor, unveiled his 5-point plan to combat the surge of gun violence across New York City.
Video of remarks can be viewed here.
A transcript of Andrew Cuomo's remarks is below:
"In Brooklyn last night, six people were shot. Last night in the Bronx, there was a shooting, and a 24-year-old was killed. Early this morning in the Bronx, there was a shooting. A 21-year-old was killed.
I used to be HUD Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, working with cities all across the country. Any mayor will tell you that Public Safety is job one, because if a city isn't safe, nothing works. If the city isn't safe, economic development doesn't work. Affordable housing doesn't work. Public education doesn't work. Systemically the way the city works, public safety is job one, and we have a public safety crisis in this city.
There's also a tremendous personal cost. We are losing young people at an alarming rate—24, 21 yesterday.
Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of the death of a person who worked for me—murder of Carey Gabay. Carey Gabay was killed in the celebration in the aftermath of the parade. Carey Gabay was 43 years old. He was a lawyer. Worked in my Counsel's Office. I worked with him for about four years. He was the model of the American dream. He grew up in the Bronx. Went to public school. Got himself a scholarship to Harvard University, went to Harvard Law School, worked in a number of big law firms, then wanted to do public service, and came and worked in the governor's office.
Ironically, Carey Gabay worked on our gun violence program and on our gun violence bill called the SAFE Act, which was the strongest gun violence program in the United States. And the SAFE Act itself was the strongest gun control bill in the United States.
So, it's not just a systemic problem. It's a terrible loss of human life that we are suffering. The approach to gun violence has to be a holistic approach. It has to be treated like a public health crisis because that's what it is. You have to attack it in the community, with community-based groups. You have to fund programs like what they call the snug programs, which are programs that work with gangs, that detect possible controversy and step in before. You have to work with what they call violence interrupters, and you have to be providing jobs for these young, at risk youth. And you have to give them something to look forward to.
And we need more police. I want to add 5000 additional police officers. Why? Because we are at one of the lowest levels of police officer staffing since the 90s, and we know that more police are part of the solution.
Mayor David Dinkins, God rest his soul, came into office, there was a crime problem. What did he do? He hired more police. Safe streets, safe city programs. Raised the number of police, and it worked. The crime rate came down.
So we know that's part of the problem, and we know it's an aggravated problem, because we're now even losing police at a very high rate of attrition, because the NYPD feels demoralized, and we know we have a problem recruiting police. But that has to be a top priority, attacking gun violence as the public health epidemic that it is, and hiring more police officers and doing what we need to do.
I would raise the starting salary because I think we're going to need that to recruit additional police. And I'd raise the starting salary with the $15,000 bonus at the end of the first year. So we are competitive with the surrounding police departments, but we need more police and we need that holistic approach.
My socialist opponent, Zoran Mamdani, sees it the exact opposite way. He views crime through a political lens as a socialist. And he has been very, very clear in his position for many, many years. Literally, he said, defund the police. He then went further and said, disband the police. His words, not mine. He then said, disarm the police. He then attacked the police themselves. He said the police are racists. He said the police are a threat to public safety. He said he co-sponsored a bill that would legalize prostitution. In the Democratic Socialist charter, that he's a member of, it says we should legalize the drug trade. This is exactly wrong. Exactly wrong. He says now he would disband what's called the SRG, the strategic response group, which is a very important response unit of the NYPD.
He says he would send a social worker to domestic violence calls. Domestic violence calls. They're called domestic violence because they often involve violence, and sending a social worker to do the job where you need a police officer is totally misguided. So, he literally has this political view that has no connection to reality.
He would have the traffic stops done by transportation officials. Traffic stops is where we find a large number of illegal guns.
So his political view of the issue of public safety is in direct opposition to the reality of the public safety issue, and this is the mayor's job. Is not political theory, it is practical reality. And job one is keeping New Yorkers safe.
He is a danger to New Yorkers. He is dangerous and he is reckless because of his inexperience and his political philosophy, I believe that from the bottom of my heart. And again, we're talking about young human lives that we are losing, and we have to be doing everything we can to stop it.
The first step towards solving a problem is acknowledging a problem, and denial is not a life strategy. So let's be honest about what we're facing, and then let's deal with it. Good news is we know how to deal with it. I did this as governor. We had a holistic approach to gun violence. We funded community-based programs and snug programs and violence interrupters. David Dinkins set the model in hiring more police officers. So we know what needs to be done. We just need to do it, and we can.”
END TRANSCRIPT
Andrew Cuomo's 5-Point Plan to Prevent Gun Violence
- 5,000 More Police Officers & Retain Experienced Officers with Incentive Pay
Restore NYPD staffing to 1990s levels with an immediate infusion of 5,000 officers, including 1,500 dedicated to the subway system. Recruitment and retention incentives will ensure adequate coverage, stability, and experience on the force. - Workforce & Youth Employment Programs
Invest in opportunity as prevention. As Governor, Cuomo funded $16 million for workforce development in 20 gun-impacted cities and $12 million for 2,400 youth jobs in NYC, part of a $154.7 million state commitment to violence reduction. As a mayoral candidate, Cuomo has already pledged $100 million for New York City workforce development and employment training. These programs help break the cycle of violence and provide productive pathways for young people. - Violence Interrupters & Community-Based Approaches
Scale proven community-based programs like Save Our Streets (SOS) and other Cure Violence initiatives. Cuomo will add $50 million in city funds to bolster these approaches. A recent analysis found such programs reduced shootings by 14%, preventing an estimated 1,300 incidents in New York City. - Gun Buyback Programs
Expand citywide gun buybacks to get firearms out of circulation and prevent future tragedies. - Precision Policing
Focus policing and programs on the small percentage of individuals driving the majority of violent crime, and the small number of hot-spot areas where most crime takes place. Use intelligence, data, and technology to maximize impact while protecting civil rights.
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