Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you pastors. Thank you to our electeds. Thank you to the community. Thank you to Elite Learners for what you have done, dropping crime and shootings in this area by 60 percent. And of the other teams that are here, there are several crisis management teams that are here.
We often don't give them the full recognition for being on the ground. They don't have bulletproof vests on. They go into areas that others don't want to go into. Brownsville Think Tank is here. I see Think Tank matters.
Camara Jackson, Founder and CEO, Elite Learners Inc.: Life Camp is here from Queens. Thank you.
Mayor Adams: I believe SOS is here that we stood with.
Jackson: East Flatbush Village is here. The God Squad.
Mayor Adams: So there's a combination of people who are on the ground doing the job every day.
Jackson: You know once we start this, right? Project Echo. East Flatbush Village again. BIVO, Man Up. Our czar was here at three o'clock and we really sent a powerful message. And I just want to say to the 71st precinct, to my community, Crown Heights, we are going to continue to do the work.
This is not the beginning and the end. We are with you all year round. We are out here on the ground and we're going to continue to do the work. We are going to restore the feeling of community. We will not only be better, we will double and make sure that the resources are deployed so that we can support at the times in need. So I just want you to know we are here and we stand in unison.
Mayor Adams: Thank you. And you have done it, you know. And we just really need to reflect. When people ask why we put millions of dollars into your operation and want to put more, it's because this is the result of it, you know.
Listen, what happened in the Taste of the City is not a reflection of our city. And we need to be clear on that. Because when you have the operation that's done in combination with the NYPD, our crisis management teams of bringing down shootings, removing 23,000 guns off our streets, investing in young people, you have an incident like this at the Taste of the City, you begin to believe it's a reflection of our city. And it is not. It is not.
This is a reflection of our city. The people who are here showing support for each other, this is the finest that we can offer each other. And I want to thank all of you who are out here today. It means a lot to the families. It means a lot to those who believe that we're going to be defined by gun violence. This is one of the most horrific shootings.
If we go back to, I believe, 2019 in Brownsville at All Timers Day. I think we had 12, 13 people were shot there. And then you look at the work that was done year after year. During this time of the year, when we lift up the West Indian diaspora, you will have hundreds of thousands of people on the street, and you will have one person that will discharge a gun, and it will tarnish the entire event and celebration.
This is an amazing community. Like the attorney general stated, I represented this community as a senator, as the borough president, and now as the mayor and as a police officer. And so I know this community so well. And we want to say to the residents of this community, we mourn with you, we will coordinate with you, and we will ensure we do everything possible to rid our communities of these weapons of death and weapons of crises.
And when the bullet hits the body of a person, it does not stop the pain through the anatomy of our city and our community. It continues to travel. It’s only been a few weeks since 345 Park Avenue witnessed four of our lovely New Yorkers, we lost their lives in 345 Park Avenue. We don't manufacture guns in New York City. So why are they finding our way on the streets? And we need help from the federal authorities to finally put an end to this senseless violence.
As I stand here, and I look at the face of Devorah Halberstam, whose son Ari was shot and killed in Brooklyn, on the Brooklyn Bridge, due to a terrorist act. Bullets destroy, and they hurt. And they hurt those who we love. And since we are part of this city, we hurt with the victims that were lost.
And so I thank all of you for coming up, lifting us up in prayer, in our different methods of worshiping. Because these are moments like this, I don't care what anyone says, it's just time to pray. And that's what we did. So thank you all for coming out and being with us today.
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