MAYOR GIULIANI ANNOUNCES NEW DRUG-FREE SCHOOL ZONES AND SAFE CORRIDORS AS PART OF ANTI-DRUG STRATEGY
By Next Week 100 Drug-Free School Zones Will Be Operational Citywide
As part of the City's comprehensive plan to remove drugs from our neighborhoods and schools, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today announced the creation of five new Drug-Free School Zones -- one in each borough -- and said that 55 more will be operational Citywide by next week, bringing the total to 100. The Mayor also announced that the number of Safe Corridors Citywide has reached 200, with 40 more to be implemented by December 1997.
Joining the Mayor for the announcement at Benjamin Cardozo High School in Queens were Police Commissioner Howard Safir and Schools Chancellor Rudy F. Crew.
"Nothing is more important to the future of New York City than the safety and well being of our children," Mayor Giuliani said. "While we have already made significant strides in reducing drug activity in our neighborhoods and schools, we must do more. And that is why I have made a commitment to expand our successful Drug-Free School Zone and Safe Corridor Programs. Children must have a drug-free and crime-free environment in and around schools if real learning is expected to take place.
"The creation of these five new Drug-Free School Zones and new Safe Corridors is critical to our efforts to rid City neighborhoods and schools of drugs," Mayor Giuliani added. "As I announced on October 1st when I released the City's new comprehensive drug strategy, we will phase-in the expansion of Drug-Free School Zones from 40 to 100. And I am pleased to report that all one hundred will be operational by next week. Over the next month, we will add an additional 40 Safe Corridors, bringing the total Citywide, to 240 -- double the number the Police Department operated just one month ago."
Mayor Giuliani concluded, "I will continue to work hard to ensure that our school children have everything they need, including safe schools, so they are assured of the best education possible and are prepared to meet the challenges they will face in the future."
On October 1, 1997, Mayor Giuliani released a plan to address New York City's drug problem with a three-pronged strategy that encompasses education and prevention, treatment and law enforcement. The plan calls for an increase of the current Drug-Free School Zones from 40 to 100 schools. Under the program, anyone caught selling drugs within 1,000 feet of school grounds will face enhanced felony penalties.
Today the Mayor announced the locations of the new Drug-Free School Zones. All 100 Zones will be operational by next week.
- Asser Levy High School, Manhattan -1st Precinct;
- JHS 123, The Bronx - 43rd Precinct;
- Bushwick High School, Brooklyn - 83rd Precinct;
- Benjamin Cardozo High School, Queens -111th Precinct and
- PS18, Staten Island - 120th Precinct.
The Safe Corridor program, which provides young people with extra police protection as they travel to and from schools, has already been increased to 200 schools, with the additional forty schools to be completed by next month.
Schools Chancellor Crew said, "The Drug-Free School Zone/Safe Corridor program has been a critical element in our efforts to keep our children safe. No student should have to worry about being exposed to crime or drugs on his or her way to school."
Commissioner Safir said, "The measures implemented today will build on the gains made by this Administration in reducing crime throughout every neighborhood in our City. They will provide extra police protection for youngsters and their parents as they travel to and from neighborhood schools."
Highlights of the Mayor's plan to remove drugs from our neighborhoods and schools include a 24 percent increase in BEACON schools; the expansion of drugs and gang-resistance education programs in public schools; a 50 percent increase in substance abuse treatment services provided in City jails; an increase in outpatient and residential treatment programs for substance-abusing probationers and the establishment of a Manhattan Drug Court.
Other measures of the plan redouble law enforcement efforts, including the designation of Washington Square Park as a Drug-Free Zone, the expansion of drug initiatives to Southeast Queens and the South Bronx and the creation of a special Hotline (1-888-374-DRUG) for citizens to report drug activity in their neighborhoods.
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