On October 20, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Deputy Mayor for Community Safety Renita Francois and the Office of Community Safety announced the expansion of New York City’s Crisis Management System (CMS) to Bushwick, Harlem, and Washington Heights/Inwood.
The three neighborhoods, known as catchment areas, were selected based on crime data, unmet service needs and other indicators. Each full CMS catchment receives $1.6 million in City funding.
The expansion will strengthen the City’s work of credible messengers — trusted community members who work to mediate conflicts before they become violence — while connecting New Yorkers to jobs, mental health services, mentorship, education, and other resources.
“Public safety is strongest when it begins with prevention and when communities have the resources to resolve conflict, support young people and keep their neighbors safe. … we are investing in trusted local organizations and credible messengers who know their communities and have earned their trust,” said Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
In Bushwick, the City will expand The Wick Against Violence, operated by Southside United HDFC – Los Sures, to strengthen neighborhood outreach and support residents at risk of gun violence. The investment builds on Los Sures’s existing work at Woodhull Hospital and their work at Bushwick Houses. The City’s investment will give the organization additional resources to deepen neighborhood outreach and provide sustained support to residents at risk of gun violence.
“Across Brooklyn we’ve seen that the people who live in our neighborhoods are the ones best positioned to mediate conflict, support families and connect neighbors to opportunity. It’s great to see the City investing in this approach and recognizing that public safety must be built with communities, not imposed on them,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.
“’The Wick’, along with partners like Woodhull Hospital H&H, the Bushwick Houses Tenants Association and Southside United HDFC, have made remarkable strides in empowering our youth, employing local residents and reducing crime.” said NYC Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez.
