Six months after Detectives Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera were killed in an apartment just a block from the 32nd precinct, bunting still hangs on the building, along with candles and memorial items are still placed outside.
“Every time you lose an officer, it’s very painful and the community feels it, police department we feel it, so it’s very sad time but our job still goes on,” Mark Stewart, deputy commissioner of NYPD Community Affairs, said.
What You Need To Know
- Six months after the detectives were ambushed in an apartment a block from the 32nd precinct, bunting still hangs on the building, along with candles and memorial items outside
- The NYPD has been utilizing community events to reach more young people and combat gun violence
- According to the NYPD, there’s been 19 shooting incidents with 23 victims of shootings within the 32nd precinct.
- The NYPD is also leaning on community faith leaders to help as a frontline defense to tackling issues
Lorenzo Williams said the loss of the detectives was an enormous shock for many in West Harlem. Williams was a victim of a shooting when he was 13-years-old — leaving him paralyzed from the waist down and has been advocating against gun violence for 40 years.
“I just want to be a part of the change in my community and other communities, wherever we can help our youth,” Williams said.
Despite the loss, Williams says it brought unity within the community. “I think that particular incident definitely brought the bridge closer together,” he said.
“The community is tired of all the guns on the street,” Wendell Ramsey, a lifelong Harlem resident, said.
Ramsey and other residents applaud these joint community events but say it needs to happen regularly.
“We need to get young people involved in activities after dark, instead of just hanging on the corner of the stoop — not just the summer time but year round,” Ramsey said.
Bridging the divide that many say exists between the community and the NYPD is no simple task. But with community events, like a Harlem basketball tournament, the NYPD is hoping to reach more young people and combat gun violence.
“Everyone wants to stop the gun violence, everyone just wants to end it. We have too many young people losing their lives,” Detective Tanya Duhaney said.
“This area of the 32 precinct had numerous shootings,” she continued.
According to the NYPD, there’s been 19 shooting incidents with 23 victims of shootings in this area this year. When compared to the same time last year, shooting incidents are down.
In addition, the NYPD is also leaning on community faith leaders to help as a frontline defense to tackling issues.
“We’re bridging a gap between clergy community cops so that we can go forward and have our communities beneficial to our youth, senior, organization and business,” Apostle Staci Ramos said.
“The way you beat gun violence is one you have to care, two you have to get out from the four walls into the community,” Chaplain Robert Rice, a clergy liaison with NYPD Community Affairs, said.
This is a multi-pronged approach to tackling the gun violence issues in the community — honing in on young people.
The NYPD said they hired 813 teens, a record number, for summer employment. They said they hope all of this helps to create safer communities for everyone and to bridge the gap between the community and the NYPD.