NY Gives 7 HV Communities Funding, Jobs To Combat Gun Violence

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Seven Hudson Valley communities will share almost $5 million from the state to fund workforce training and job placement to combat gun violence, and three of them will also participate in a direct jobs program that is part of New York's declared gun-violence emergency.

The direct component will bring 833 jobs to at-risk youth in three of the communities: in Rockland County as well as Mount Vernon and Yonkers in Westchester.

Money for job training and placement is going to those three communities plus four in the mid-Hudson Valley.

• Kingston: $300,000
• Middletown: $325,000
• Mount Vernon: $1.05 million
• Poughkeepsie: $350,000
• Newburgh: $600,000
• Spring Valley: $750,000
• Yonkers: $1.1 million

The initiative announced Wednesday is part of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's recent declaration that gun violence in the state was a "disaster emergency." The new initiative treats gun violence as a public health crisis and includes short-term and long-term strategies to try to combat it, including $16 million in funding to 20 municipalities across the state.

Some of the region's Republican politicians attacked the initiative last month. SEE: HV Reaction Mixed To NY Disaster Emergency On Gun Violence

In Wednesday's meeting for the lower Hudson Valley, specific steps to combat gun violence were set out:

• Creating 253 summer jobs for youth and 580 long-term jobs placed in partnership with the local workforce development board;
• Establishing summer programs for youth including more than 100 activities at Rockefeller Park Preserve and state parks across the lower Hudson Valley area;
• Hiring new violence interveners to work at existing community intervention programs; and
• Expanding community services and assistance for mental health support, substance abuse treatment and family crisis intervention.

Unemployed, underemployed and out-of-school young adults ages 18-24 will be eligible.

New York officials will also collaborate with local workforce development boards and community partners to provide job training, credentialing and career placement services. Ultimately state officials want to connect the long-term job holders in the program to good-paying, permanent jobs.

"It is unacceptable what is happening to our children and our communities because of gun violence," said Lieut. Gov. Kathy Hochul. "We have to give people hope and let them know their lives have meaning and we are doing just that with 253 new jobs for youth in the Lower Hudson Valley and investing over $200,000 in summer programming. I am optimistic just as we beat back this pandemic, that we can prevail over this pandemic of gun violence working together with our local elected officials and community leaders."

In the region, the program will work with participants from the two cities in southern Westchester and from a central region in Rockland County: eligible residents live around Monsey, Nanuet and Spring Valley in zip codes 10952, 10954 and 10977.

"While we always appreciate any additional funding to support young people in our community, after a 20-plus-year career in law enforcement this is a subject I am deeply familiar with," Rockland County Executive Ed Day told Patch. "And if Governor Cuomo is truly interested in reducing gun violence, I urge him to speak to law enforcement professionals here and around New York State to develop a robust and comprehensive enforcement program which can address this problem. This type of approach has worked before and will work again."