Reducing Violence

We seek to prevent disorder and violence by working directly in and with the communities that are most affected by crime.

In the South Bronx and central Brooklyn, we’re mobilizing local voices, including former gang members, and training them to end gun violence. Our community justice centers in Brownsville, Red Hook, and Harlem seek to ameliorate the causes of violence through employment and reentry programs. Our youth programs provide educational and leadership opportunities for at-risk young people. Our work on placemaking engages communities to revitalize public spaces, promoting neighborhood resilience and safety. We help coordinate the Minority Youth Violence Prevention initiative, a program of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the Office of Minority Health, bringing together public health organizations, law enforcement agencies, and community-based groups to curb violence and reduce disparities in access to public health among at-risk minority youth across the U.S. And, we work to combat domestic violence, seeking to reduce harm, enhance victim safety, and hold offenders accountable.

Initiatives

Brownsville Community Justice Center

The Brownsville Community Justice Center works to reduce crime and incarceration, and strengthen community trust in justice in central Brooklyn.
Make It Happen

Make It Happen helps young men between the ages of 16 and 24 who have experienced violence acquire the tools necessary to overcome traumatic experiences.
Minority Youth Violence Prevention Initiative

With a focus on treating violence as a disease, this initiative links public health agencies, community groups, and law enforcement in an effort to curb violence.
Red Hook Community Justice Center

The nation's first multi-jurisdictional community court, the Red Hook Community Justice Center seeks to solve neighborhood problems in southwest Brooklyn.
Save Our Streets (S.O.S.)

Save Our Streets (S.O.S.) seeks to end gun violence at the neighborhood level by changing local norms.

Publications & Digital Media

Publication
Plenty of Science, Not Enough Passion: Accelerating the Pace of Felony Decarceration

by Julian Adler and Joseph Barrett

Our knowledge about what works and what doesn’t in the field of justice reform has grown significantly in recent decades, but our willingness to pilot new initiatives has not kept pace. Through a focus on a pioneering New York City court, this article argues alternative-to-incarceration programs should follow the research and open participation to more charges, including violent ones, and seek to address a wider array of needs.

Reducing Trauma, Reducing Violence
Publication
Fact Sheet: The Bronx Community Justice Center

The Bronx Community Justice Center works to create a safer, more equitable Bronx through community-driven public safety initiatives, youth opportunity, and economic mobility efforts focused in the South Bronx. Our vision is to support the South Bronx community to become a safe and thriving place where local ownership, community-led investment, and youth opportunity can flourish. The Bronx Community Justice Center works toward this vision by focusing on community safety, restorative practices, and youth and economic development.

Community Justice, Diversion, Placemaking, Reducing Trauma, Reducing Violence, Youth Initiatives
Publication
Neighbors in Action: Creating Safer and Healthier Communities

by Amy Ellenbogen

On the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, an introduction to the origins, programming, and community impact of Neighbors in Action, formerly known as the Crown Heights Community Mediation Center. Neighbors in Action works to make the central Brooklyn neighborhoods of Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant safer and healthier for all.

Access to Justice, Addressing Racial Disparities, Reducing Trauma, Reducing Violence

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News

NYC's youngest fatal shooting victim this year remembered with a call to action

March 6, 2024
Gothamist

Family members, friends, and neighbors gathered at a playground in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, to remember Troy Gill, a 13-year-old boy who was lost to gun violence on February 29. As the community stood together in mourning, they also issued a call to action to mobilize against gun violence and prioritize the safety and well-being of all young people. “We're in a time where a lot of young people don't feel seen and or loved or heard,” said Anthony Rowe, director of our Neighbors in Action program in Crown Heights. “So our path forward is to invest in the youth.”
2024 Spark Prize Honors Brooklyn's Equity Champions

March 27, 2024
BKReader

Our Neighbors in Action program received Brooklyn Org’s prestigious annual Spark Prize, which recognizes five nonprofits each year working to build racial and social justice in Brooklyn. The five winners of the award were honored at this year’s Spark Breakfast at the Brooklyn Museum. “We want to make Brooklyn a beacon for the world,” said Brooklyn Org president and CEO Dr. Jocelynne Rainey. “Not just in style, but in equity and justice.”
To Achieve Public Safety, Invest in Strong Communities

Strong communities are safe communities. What would change if all of our policies—inside and outside of the legal system—reflected that basic truth?

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