Public Safety Committee addresses gang activity
Today the City Council’s Public Safety Committee held an incredibly important hearing on gang activity, and legislation we’re introducing to curtail it. I am personally introducing a bill, Intro 945, which will make it a class A misdemeanor for gang members to solicit someone to commit a crime.
From my experience on the School Board to working with Council for Unity – a non-profit that seeks to combat violence – I have always been concerned about gang activity among our youth.
Peer pressure can be a powerful and dangerous instigator. Just recently, 15-year-old Vada Vasquez was shot in the head by a stray bullet. That bullet, meant for another person, could have paralyzed or killed her.
According to news reports, the young men involved in the shooting gave the gun to the youngest member in their group – the only one without a criminal record. The young man who fired the bullet that struck Vada deserves to be punished. But so do the gang members who gave him the gun and encouraged him to pull the trigger.
We need to take every opportunity we can to stop this sort of behavior. Countless parents have told me their children are being pressured by gang members, and they don’t know what to do. Gang violence remains a problem in my Coney Island district.
I believe the bills were discussed today are an important step to stopping gang activity and protecting our children.
