From day one, our administration's North Star has been public safety. We have gone to work to sweep out crime and illegal activities from our neighborhoods, and because of this work, we are currently in our eighth consecutive quarter of crime reductions. That means for almost two straight years since January 2024 crime has consistently declined each quarter in New York City. But public safety is about more than just policing. To make sure our communities feel safe and are safe, we must make smart, upstream investments that prevent crime in the first place. We must invest in our young people and provide them with safe places away from gun violence. Places to just be kids, and to play and build trust with law enforcement.
"It's been challenging in recent years for residents of the city who wanted to access baseball and soccer fields, which require a fair degree of maintenance," Becker said, recapping the origin of the working group. "The city had set up a variety of contracts with local organizations - some nonprofits, some for-profit, to maintain those fields in exchange for priority, and in some cases, exclusive access to use those fields, which made it more difficult for individuals who weren't part of those organizations to get access to those fields."
"The fundâwhich uses a 1 percent sales tax on large retailers to pay for clean energy projects and climate-oriented programsâhas raked in much more money than initially expected."