Brooklyn Borough President and Democratic mayoral candidate Eric Adams is finally back in the spotlight after a reprieve following the June primaries.
Last week he joined New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents, violence interrupters, and elected leaders to suss out the root causes of gun violence amid a spike in shootings targeting young people at public housing developments in Brooklyn.
On Sept. 28, 16-year-old Cahlil Pennington was accidentally shot in the head by his friend during a shooting on Fiorentino Plaza in East New York.
Pennington was one of three young people shot outside NYCHA developments in Brooklyn within a six-day span. On Friday afternoon, a 16-year-old girl, Kyla-Simone Sobers-Batties, was shot in the head outside Gowanus Houses, and taken to the hospital in critical condition. Early Sunday morning, a 22-year-old man was fatally shot in the lobby of Albany Houses in Crown Heights, said the BP’s office.
“Our city, state, and federal governments have failed NYCHA residents for too long. That failure has led to the current public health and safety crisis we’re seeing. It is completely unacceptable that three young people have been shot—two fatally—in a six-day span outside NYCHA facilities,” said Adams in a statement.
Adams said that the government’s neglect for public housing is literally costing lives and he plans to fully fund the city’s Crisis Management System and NYCHA public housing as a way to reduce gun violence.
On the environmental front, Adams sent a representative to urge Gov. Kathy Hochul to support a united opposition to repowering the Gowanus’ fracked gas plant last Thursday.
Councilmember Brad Lander, Assembly member Marcela Mitanyes and Assembly member Robert Carroll also joined in to highlight the climate, environmental justice and public health threats the project poses.
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America Corps member and writes about culture and politics in New York City for the AmsterdamNews. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/fcszwj8w