New 'Advance Peace' Program Will Aim To Stop NYC Gun Violence

NEW YORK CITY — A new pilot program will pair at-risk New York City youths with mentors and offer monetary stipends in an effort to curb gun violence.

Jumaane Williams, the city's public advocate, recently pressed Mayor Bill de Blasio to try the "Advance Peace" — an anti-violence program used successfully in Sacramento — in New York City.

De Blasio agreed — on Monday he announced the program will be tested in five precincts across as many boroughs. The pilot program will start in July, he said.

"The Advance Peace model is an important step in our efforts to reduce violence in the city," Williams said. "It helps create a deeper level of mentorship between our violence interrupters and people who are out there already, and young New Yorkers who at risk of engaging in gun violence and create tangible opportunities and incentives to do better. Reach better metrics in life — it's incentivized in a way that is proven."

Gun violence has been on the rise in New York City amid the coronavirus pandemic. It's a trend made more alarming by the fact that crime overall is decreasing.

De Blasio has repeatedly blamed the gun violence spike on a "perfect storm" of disruptions around the pandemic. He has also pushed back against critics — perhaps most prominently former President Donald Trump — who argued that efforts to reform the NYPD led to the spike in violence.

But de Blasio also received harsh criticism from police reform advocates, including Williams at a memorial for George Floyd, for not going far enough.

Williams and de Blasio appeared to set aside their differences Monday as they presented the pilot program as a way to halt violence.

A 2020 study touted by the Advance Peace organization found a 27 percent reduction in gun violence where the program was used in Sacramento.

New York City's pilot program will conduct outreach in areas with high levels of gun violence to identify at-risk youth, officials said.

"Select individuals are then invited to join the Peacemaker fellowship, which pairs mentees with individual Neighborhood Change Agents who mentor them and set tangible goals like a drivers’ license or a GED," a release states. "When participants achieve their goals, they receive a monetary stipend."

The pilot will launch in the 46th Precinct in the Bronx, the 114th Precinct in Queens, the 26th Precinct in Manhattan, the 73rd Precinct in Brooklyn, and the 120th Precinct in Staten Island.