Mayor Adams Releases New Report Detailing Success of Community-Driven Public Safety Strategies to Kick Off “Public Safety Week”

December 9, 2024

Report Highlights Cornerstone of Administration's Public Safety Strategy, Delivering Whole-of-Government Responses to Long-Standing  Quality of Life Issues in Partnership with Community 

Community-Driven Approach Has Resulted in Over 1,070 Multi-Agency Operations, Over 730 Complaints Resolved, Over 15,900 Summonses Issued, and Over 200 People Placed in Shelter   

Builds on Record-Accomplishments Making New Yorkers Safe With Major Crimes Down in 2024, Over 19,000 Guns Removed from Streets, Over 1,300 Illegal Cannabis Stores Closed, Subway Crime Down 6.3 Percent Year-to-Date  

NEW YORK – To kick off "Public Safety" Week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams today released, "Safer Together: The Adams Administration's Approach to Community-Driven Public Safety," outlining the results of the administration's approach to public safety by delivering multi-agency responses to communities dealing with persistent quality-of-life concerns. "Public Safety" Week will be a weeklong highlight of the Adams administration's community-driven public safety models, unveiling new and ongoing efforts to keep New Yorkers safe and improving their quality of life. In addition to highlighting neighborhood-by-neighborhood responses, key indicators of the report show the administration's multi-agency response efforts resolved nearly 730 complaints, issued over 15,900 summonses, and conducted over 1,070 operations since launching in May 2023.  

These results build on double-digit decreases in murders and shootings in 2022 and 2023, over 19,000 guns removed from the streets since the start of the administration, over 1,300 illegal cannabis shops sealed in 2024, and overall crime in the transit system down 6.3 percent year-to-date — successes which are also highlighted in the new report.   

"Our administration is committed to making New York City a safer, more affordable city, and working-class New Yorkers are both seeing and feeling the results of our relentless efforts every day," said Mayor Adams. "Our community-driven approach, as embodied in successful programs like 'Community Link,' shows how we are working in partnership across agencies to address the concerns of every neighborhood across the city. As demonstrated in this report, our community-driven efforts have conducted over 1,070 operations, resolving over 730 complaints and issuing over 15,900 summonses. Our agencies continue to be diligent in addressing the problems that make communities feel safer, such as closing over 1,300 illegal cannabis shops, removing 19,000 guns from our streets, seizing over 7,000 illegal ghost cars, and making our subways safer with steady year-to-date crime declines. It is because of these successful administration-wide efforts that we have seen major crime drops in 2024 and we continue to make New York City a safer, more equitable, and more vibrant city for all."     

"The approach this administration takes to any challenge is to come together at one table to come up with a unified, creative solution," said Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chauncey Parker. "New Yorkers shouldn't have to navigate a maze of agencies to see real action on persistent issues in their neighborhoods. We are streamlining our efforts and working closely with communities to make it easier for residents to see meaningful, lasting improvements."  

Community Link   

Core to the Adams administration's public safety efforts are community-driven programs, such as "Community Link," a rapid governmental response initiative that identifies neighborhoods facing chronic and complex quality-of-life issues and organizes the right combination of agency, community, and external stakeholders to collaboratively address them. By taking a concentrated multi-agency approach and embedding them with community partners, Community Link works to address the root cause of pervasive issues and delivers the resources and services communities need to achieve meaningful progress. The central Community Link team coordinates with local police precincts and deploys multiple agencies into neighborhoods on a daily basis to address discreet problems, such as illegal vending; illicit cannabis shops; abandoned property and encampments; unkempt parks and streets; derelict vehicles; illegal ghost cars, dirt bikes, ATVs, mopeds, and pedicabs; loitering and disorderly groups; noise complaints; sanitation issues; illegal substance use activity; and more. 

Additionally, the administration has launched seven "Community Improvement Coalitions," which have and continue to receive a sustained level of enforcement and coordination. These include 125th Street, 110th Street Corridor, Midtown West, East 14th Street, Washington Square Park, "The Hub" in the Bronx, and Roosevelt Avenue in Queens. With a focus on delivering services and offering support to the those in need, over 4,800 individuals were engaged by homeless outreach teams and over 200 were placed in shelter across these hubs alone. 

Led by the New York City Police Department (NYPD), city agencies participating in Community Link operations include the Fire Department of the City of New York, the Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health, the Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB), the New York City Department of Design and Construction, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS), the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), the New York City Department of Small Business Services, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), and the New York City Sheriff's Office. In addition, operations often include external partners, such as the New York State Police, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and various District Attorneys' offices.    

Beside performing routine operations in response to complaints across the five boroughs, Community Link conducts sustained outreach and enforcement in seven areas, known as "Community Improvement Coalitions." Highlights of these operations include:   

• Midtown West: Over 600 clients engaged and 74 clients placed in shelter by DHS; over 12 scaffolding structures removed and seven DOB violations issued; and increased NYPD presence and dedicated outreach team through NYPD's neighborhood coordination officers.  
• East 14th Street: Over 95 clients engaged and six clients placed in shelter by DHS; 10 mobile food vendor inspections; dedicated NYPD foot patrol; and three NYPD light towers installed.  
• Washington Square Park: Over 1,480 clients engaged and 39 clients placed in shelter by DHS; over 85 hypo-needle removals; and one NYPD light tower installed.  
• Roosevelt Avenue in Queens: Over 190 clients engaged and 10 clients placed in shelter by DHS; over 6,900 summonses issued across agencies, including over 3,500 quality-of-life summonses; over 172 building inspections; and 270 vendor inspections.  
• "The Hub" in the Bronx: Over 880 clients engaged and 47 clients placed in shelter by DHS; 11 inspections and increased garbage collection by DSNY; outreach conducted by four DOHMH-contracted service providers seven days a week; and over 390 NYPD summonses issued.  
• 125th Street:  Over 680 clients engaged and six placed in shelter; seven NYPD light towers added; additional police officers placed; DOT repaired numerous street lights and installed three new light polls; DSNY increased frequency of litter basket collection; and multiple graffiti clean-ups. 
• 110th Street Corridor: Over 920 clients engaged and 27 clients placed in shelter by DHS; daily canvas inside Central Park and permitter at North Woods; and increased police and parks officer patrols.  

Every Block Counts   

Several blocks in New York City are historically home to disproportionately larger public safety issues. "Every Block Counts " is a data-driven multi-agency and community partnership that aims to permanently transform the conditions and culture on residential blocks that have historically seen high-levels of crime and quality-of-life issues. Every Block Counts' pilot program has directed resources to specific blocks in NYPD precincts with the highest number of serious violent crimes, in particular shooting incidents, beginning with five blocks each from the 46th Precinct in the Bronx and the 73rd Precinct in Brooklyn. The pilot program launched in October 2024 where multiple agencies worked together with community members and a "Block CEO" — who represents their neighbors — to create a safer, cleaner, more livable environment for residents based on each block's immediate needs. 

Since launching in October 2024, Every Block Counts has identified a total of 146 issues across the 10 blocks and resolved 111 of those issues. In the 73rd Precinct over the past 56 days, there has not been one shooting or a single shots fired incident on one of these five blocks, compared to three shootings or shots fired incidents during the same period in 2023. Major crime has also decreased by 55 percent on those blocks. Likewise, there has not been one shooting or a single shots fired incident on the included blocks in the 46th Precinct, compared to four shootings and shots fired incidents in 2023.   

Addressing Gun Violence   

In January 2022, Mayor Adams announced the "Blueprint to End Gun Violence," which laid out his priorities to immediately address the crisis of guns on New York City streets. Pursuant to the blueprint, in March 2022, the NYPD launched its Neighborhood Safety Teams to focus on gun violence prevention in areas that account for a disproportionate amount of citywide shootings. 

Mayor Adams' comprehensive gun violence strategy also includes upstream solutions guided by the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force established in June 2022, which focuses on diversion programs, prevention efforts, and expanded opportunities for young people — all targeting the root causes of gun violence to ensure a safer environment for all New Yorkers. The task force's commitments are formalized in the "Blueprint for Community Safety," an investment of nearly $500 million to create safer, more resilient communities, with a focus on intervention and prevention. 

The Adams administration also leads the Gun Violence Strategies Partnership, a 30+ multi-agency law enforcement partnership focused on strengthening investigations and prosecutions of the most severe gun offenders who drive violence in New York City. Members of the team meet every weekday morning to review felony gun violence arrests from the previous 24 hours and share intelligence to ensure perpetrators are held accountable and New Yorkers are kept safe. The partnership, which will convene its 800th consecutive meeting this month, has reviewed more than 670 cases year-to-date, resulting in bail or remand set on an average of 85 percent of individuals at arraignment.    

Because of the administration's steadfast focus on reducing gun violence, shootings have trended downward since January 2022, and more than 19,000 guns have been removed from New York City streets since January 1, 2022, with nearly 6,000 removed just this year alone. 

Operation Padlock to Protect 

The Adams administration successfully advocated for municipalities to be given the regulatory authority by the state to shut down illegal cannabis shops plaguing city streets. Immediately after, the administration launched "Operation Padlock to Protect" a vigorous effort aimed at shuttering operators near schools and houses of worship that targeted children and prevented the creation of a flourishing legal cannabis market.  

Since launching in May 2024, Operation Padlock to Protect has closed down over 1,300 illegal cannabis shops and confiscated an estimated $86 million of illegal products, including thousands of pounds of illegal vapes.  

Subway Safety   

In February 2022, Mayor Adams launched the Subway Safety Plan to address public safety concerns and support people experiencing homelessness and severe mental illness on New York City subways. In addition to launching the Subway Safety Plan, in the fall of 2022, Mayor Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul deployed an additional 1,200 police officers to subway platforms and trains each day. Following the end of that deployment in 2023, earlier this year, Mayor Adams directed the NYPD to surge an additional 1,000 police officers into the subway system each day to help keep New Yorkers safe and bring overall crime in the transit system down.  

These safety efforts are paying off, with overall crime in the subway system down 6.3 percent year to date, with a 15.8 percent drop in November. And, last year, overall crime in the transit system fell by nearly 3 percent compared to 2022, as the number of riders increased by 14 percent. Since the start of the Subway Safety Plan, over 8,000 New Yorkers have been connected to shelter, with over 700 now in permanent affordable housing.  

Ghost Cars

In March 2024, Mayor Adams, Governor Hochul, and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chair and CEO Janno Lieber launched a multi-agency, city-state ghost car task force. The task force includes the NYPD, the New York City Sheriff's Office, MTA Bridge and Tunnel officers, the New York State Police, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department. Then, in September 2024, Mayor Adams launched the Ghost Car Task Force with the NYPD and DSNY to target illegally-parked cars on city streets. Fifteen NYPD officers were assigned to parked ghost car removal under the direction of the DSNY, freeing up space for New Yorkers who follow safety and regulatory requirements. 

Since launching the Ghost Car Task Force, the administration has removed 7,000 illegal ghost cars.    

"Public safety is paramount in ensuring a robust and prosperous city, and the 'Safer Together' initiative demonstrates the power of collaboration and community-driven solutions," said New York State Senator Leroy Comrie. "By addressing quality-of-life concerns through a coordinated, multi-agency approach, the Adams administration is showing real results — ensuring that New Yorkers not only feel safe, but also see tangible improvements in our neighborhoods. I commend Mayor Adams for prioritizing the closing of illegal smoke shops in Southeast Queens using inclusive strategies that make our communities safer and stronger for everyone."   

"We are laser focused on a city where all New Yorkers live in safety and dignity," said New York State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar. "During this 'Public Safety Week,' we celebrate the success of our community-driven strategies to tackle crime: double digit decreases in homicides and shootings, a 6.3 percent decrease in subway crime, 19,000 guns off our streets, and 200 unhoused New Yorkers stabilized. I am proud of my part in tackling crime, passing the SMOKEOUT Act to empower the city to padlock the illegal smoke shops. In a matter of months, we closed over 1,300 of these hotbeds of crime. Together, we will continue our work to make the safest big city in America even safer."   

"I've been working tirelessly for the past three years to address the illegal activity in my district," said New York City Councilmember Francisco P. Moya. "Mayor Adams and myself are the only elected officials taking action to restore quality of life to District 21. With the implementation of 'Operation Restore Roosevelt,' action is now being taken with the assistance of multiple agencies to restore quality of life. In just two months of this effort, we have seen improvement and will continue to work to restore safety in our communities." 

"Public Safety is a team sport, and we need all agencies working together with the community to effectively improve our city's quality-of-life," said Tom Harris president, the Times Square Alliance. "The Community Link program has worked directly with the Times Square community to address challenges that cross agency boundaries like the illegal pedicabs, rogue vendors and illegal cannabis shops. We applaud Mayor Adams on all the successes this program has had."  

"As the longstanding stewards of Central Park, we strive to keep the Park welcoming, accessible, and enjoyable for millions of New Yorkers and visitors. In partnership with the City of New York's 'Community Link' program, we have convened the Harlem Gateway 110th Street Coalition to ensure that government agencies, community groups, park neighbors, and local businesses are marching toward the shared goal of improving the 110th Street corridor," said Betsy Smith, president and CEO, Central Park Conservancy. "We are grateful for the city's partnership on these public safety initiatives, which help ensure that the park and its surrounding neighborhoods remain safe and welcoming spaces for all."  

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