Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson joined Council Members Althea Stevens (C.D. 16) and Pierina Sanchez (C.D. 14), the NYPD, clergy leaders, community organizations, violence-prevention advocates, city agencies, and public safety partners for a press conference at Lou Gehrig Plaza in the Concourse section of The Bronx on Thursday, June 4, to kick off Gun Violence Awareness Month, with a focus on prevention, opportunity, healing, and community investment.

 

Held under this year’s campaign themes, “Community Over Violence” and “Choose Peace. Choose Purpose. Choose Life,” the event brought together stakeholders from across the borough to reaffirm what was described as the shared commitment to reducing violence through youth engagement, workforce development, mentorship, supportive services, and community partnerships.

 

“Too many families in The Bronx have experienced the heartbreak of losing a loved one to gun violence, and every one of those losses leaves a lasting impact on our communities,” said Gibson. “It is important that we continue to do everything we can to support our youth and families who have been impacted by gun violence by creating opportunities for success and connecting them with the jobs and resources that they need to be successful and not a statistic.”

 

She added, “This Gun Violence Awareness Month, we choose community over violence, and it is a reminder that we all have a role to play in promoting peace and safety in our borough.”

 

The program was emceed by Pastor Jay Gooding, Sr., a Bronx clergy member and anti-violence advocate with cure violence group, Stand Up to Violence. The group’s work includes violence prevention, conflict mediation, and youth engagement efforts throughout the borough. Gooding Sr. opened the event by emphasizing the importance of collective action and the role that faith leaders, community organizations, families, and residents play in creating safer communities for young people.

Throughout the press conference, speakers stressed that addressing gun violence requires a comprehensive approach that combines public safety strategies with long-term investments in youth, families, and neighborhoods.

 

Stevens, chair of the city council committee on children & youth, said, “Gun violence prevention starts with investing in our young people and creating opportunities that help them thrive. We must continue expanding access to summer jobs, workforce development programs, mentorship, and mental health resources that keep youth engaged and connected to their communities.”

 

The councilwoman represents the Bronx neighborhoods of Morrisania, Claremont Village-Claremont (East), Concourse-Concourse Village, Highbridge, Mount Eden-Claremont (West), Yankee Stadium-Macombs Dam Park, Claremont Park, University Heights (South)-Morris Heights, and University Heights (North)-Fordham.

 

Stevens added, “Public safety is more than policing; it is ensuring our families have the support and resources they need to succeed. Through strong partnerships between community organizations, city agencies, and local leaders, we can create safer neighborhoods and brighter futures for the next generation.”

Meanwhile, Sanchez said, “Gun violence steals futures, destabilizes families, and leaves communities carrying trauma long after the headlines fade. Our precincts in the West Bronx experience a disproportionate share of shooting incidents, and we need prevention, intervention, and real investment in the people and places most impacted.

 

She added, “That is why I launched the West Bronx Community Safety Partnership (as reported at the time by Norwood News): to bring local elected officials, community organizations, service providers, schools, health partners, and residents together around a shared strategy to reduce violence at its roots.”

 

Sanchez continued, “To date, we have secured $3 million to create opportunity, build trust, support young people, and save lives in the West Bronx. Fund recipients will be identified by neighborhood leaders. I thank Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and all our partners for standing with us in this work. We will not stop until every child, every family, and every block can live in safety and dignity.”

The councilwoman represents some or all of the Bronx neighborhoods of University Heights (South)-Morris Heights, Mount Hope, Fordham Heights, University Heights (North)-Fordham, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge Heights-Van Cortlandt Village, and Kingsbridge-Marble Hill. Notably, as reported previously, the average worker in her district earns $25,000/annum.

 

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark reiterated what she said she had been saying for years, that the borough is losing a generation of young people to gun violence either as victims or through incarceration. “We are keenly aware of gun violence, but we must prevent it,” she said.

 

“Events like this one give us the opportunity to bring the youth and their parents together to let them know that the path of guns and violence is one that you must never go down, and we must continue to call on our elected officials here in the City and in Albany to provide us with the resources we need to continue to reach out to our young people with employment and recreational opportunities,” she added.

 

Carl Vincent Manalo, superintendent of Bronx High School Districts 7, 9, & 12 said he and his colleagues were grateful to Gibson for always thinking about her community’s needs. “Too often, as educators, we’ve come across heartbreak of losing one of our students to gun violence,” he said. “Too often does it happen to the families, friends and loved ones. I’ve gone to too many funerals growing up in The Bronx and as [an] educator in NYC, I am proud to work in a community where its leadership takes action and sees opportunities for our families.”

During the press conference, several key focus areas for Gun Violence Awareness Month, were highlighted, including youth-focused violence prevention initiatives, workforce development opportunities, violence interruption programs, trauma-informed support services, and collaborative efforts between government agencies and community-based organizations.

 

Immediately afterwards, the borough president’s office hosted its “Future Focus Youth Job Fair” in partnership with Stevens and with NYS Department of Labor. Officials later said the event connected over 400 young people with employment opportunities, workforce development organizations, career-readiness resources, and summer programming opportunities designed to support long-term success.

 

They said throughout the summer months, the office will continue to amplify community-led Gun Violence Awareness Month initiatives across the borough, including violence-prevention programs, youth engagement activities, wellness events, recreational programming, neighborhood gatherings, and healing-centered activations that promote safety, opportunity, and community connection.

 

Locally, over the last year, Bronx residents have sadly continued to read about several incidents of gun violence and knife violence affecting not just young people, but residents of all ages, often fatally. These included 14-year-old Ángel Miguel Mendoza Hernández who was tragically and fatally stabbed in the Williamsbridge Oval park on Aug. 5, 2025, Christopher Redding, 16, who was fatally shot in Kingsbridge in February, and Reyna Caceres, who was shot in the eye and died on May 28 in University Heights.

 

A 14-year-old boy was arrested for a nonfatal shooting of a man and a woman on Webster Avenue in Belmont in September 2025, an 18-year-old girl was shot in the arm in early May just north of Norwood on Jerome Avenue, and a man is sought for a nonfatal shooting of two female teenagers in Van Cortlandt Park in October 2025. In the South Bronx, a 78-year-old Mitchel Houses NYCHA resident was fatally shot while sitting outside his home on a bench in April.

 

Gun violence statistics for the 46th, 52nd and 50th Precincts in the Northwest Bronx as of end of May are attached. Year-to-date shootings are up in both the 52nd and the 50th Precincts.