Manhattan District Attorney (D.A.) Alvin Bragg’s gun buyback in Washington Heights on Saturday, June 22, brought in 17 guns to be turned into cash. Anyone other than law enforcement was allowed to surrender firearms in exchange for money as part of ongoing efforts to get guns off the street this summer.
State Senator Robert Jackson and Assemblymember Manny De Los Santos—who both represent Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill—told the AmNews that getting guns off the street is crucial in their district. The lawmakers mentioned a Father’s Day shooting in Inwood that killed two people and injured another as a recent incident; police arrested and charged a 16-year-old for two counts of second-degree murder. One of the victims, Alejandro “Alex” Ramirez, was a pillar in the community.
“This week, a hardworking man working [long hours at a] pizzeria literally died while he was getting…home,” De Los Santos said. “He was a beloved member of the community…, and someone (who), when we talked about hard work and working class, we looked to people like Alex.”
Washington Heights is one of several neighborhoods the D.A. is targeting for gun violence reduction. Other areas of focus include Harlem and the Lower East Side, where previous buybacks have been hosted. Last summer, the D.A. office’s Cash for Guns event at Harlem’s Memorial Baptist Church reeled in 50 firearms. Many were illegally homemade or 3D-printed, dubbed by law enforcement as “ghost guns.” However, none such guns were collected at the June 22 buyback.
“I was surprised because of that trend that we did not get ghost guns today,” Bragg told the AmNews. “We’ve seen them more and more in our buybacks and gun practice.”
The office offered $200 for every ghost gun turned in; $500 each for handguns and assault rifles; $75 for a working rifle or shotgun; and $25 for an air or replica gun, as well as an inoperable firearm.
While buyback programs do work, Bragg said there are also other ways to tackle gun violence. He pointed to recently prompting YouTube to remove and/or age-restrict content that encourages firearm use. The video-sharing platform implemented those recommendations, which went into effect on June 18.
The new rules include bans on videos demonstrating removal of safety devices on firearms and limiting content that shows realistic automatic weapon and homemade gun use to adult audiences. News and military organizations were excluded from the age restrictions.
“These updates to our firearms policy are part of our continued efforts to maintain policies that reflect the current state of content on YouTube,” said spokesperson Javier Hernandez. “For example, 3-D printing has become more readily available in recent years, so we’re expanding our restrictions on content involving homemade firearms. We regularly review our guidelines and consult with outside experts to make sure we are drawing the line at the right place.”
To be clear, guns can be swapped for $200 at police precincts at any time, a fact that Jackson underscored. Buybacks, however, minimize interacting with law enforcement. Jackson offered a solution for his constituents dissuaded from surrendering a gun due to police presence: “If, in fact, someone brought a gun to the precinct…, they get…money as if they were coming here,” Jackson said at the buyback event.
“We wanted to have the lane open to bring in something as long as you know what to do…if someone has a gun in my district and they want to avoid this and they may be a little afraid, then call my office.
“I will go there and get it from them and make sure that it’s taken into the precinct so no one knows who it is.”
To do so, “wrap it up, tape it up, and bring it in,” Jackson advised.
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.