Brownsville Demands Funding, Not Police, After Mass Shooting

BROWNSVILLE, BROOKLYN — Brownsville residents, elected officials and nonprofits gathered Monday night at the site of the Old Timers Day mass shooting to demand the city fund community programs they believe would better protect the neighborhood from violence.

"If policing alone could solve this problem it would have been solved already," Public Advocate Jumaane Williams told the crowd that gathered outside the Brownsville Recreation Center, where 11 people were shot and one man killed Saturday night, and more than 100 police officers stood guard.

"These nonprofits solve problems better than government when fully funded," said Williams, "and government moves out of the way."

Williams was joined by a slew of local advocacy groups — including the Brownsville Community Justice Center and Brownsville In Violence Out — days after Jason Pagan, 38, lost his life in a mass shooting police believe may be gang-related.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams detailed on The Brian Lehrer Show Monday how police actively worked to discourage community safety groups, such as the Guardian Angels, from patrolling in New York City.

Adams argued police could only do so much in Brownsville because the NYPD does not have the connection to the community that local volunteers do.

"The Police Department must realize their method of policing is only going to take us to a certain level," said Adams. "[Volunteers] can actually communicate with people, not only to talk about when crimes happen but also to prevent crimes."

Williams also noted that violent crimes are often born out of strained economic circumstances, which a recent community profile from the Health Department shows are prevalent in Brownsville.

Data show nearly a third of Brownsville residents live in poverty, almost 40 percent of children miss 19 days of school or more a year, and the rate of adult psychiatric hospitalization in Brownsville is triple the citywide rate, which indicates difficulty accessing preventive health services.

"The number one way to cut crime in half is a job," said Williams. "Public safety means people have access to quality schools quality housing and quality jobs."

"People are here fighting against this gun violence every single day," the Public Advocate concluded.

"All of the people who talk about the shootings, who talk about the violence, who have their hands on the purse, get some money to these community groups."