Last week’s recent surge of youth violence in the city resulted in the tragic deaths of two teens and injuries to at least six others due to shootings and stabbings, highlighting once again the failure of Albany’s lenient approach to crime.
The incidents of violence and the loss of young lives are deeply disturbing:
- Mahki Brown, a 16-year-old member of a Brooklyn anti-gun violence group, was fatally shot in SoHo by a gunman on a CitiBike.
- Three 15-year-old boys were attacked in separate slashing incidents in Brooklyn and The Bronx.
Data from the NYPD revealed a tripling in the number of teenage shooters and victims in the city from 2017 to 2022, with a significant increase in adolescent recidivism.
The prolonged lockdowns imposed by Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio during the pandemic contributed to the rise in violence by disrupting sports programs and community activities that serve as deterrents to gang involvement. Gangs took advantage of the situation to recruit more members, especially with the implementation of the 2018 Raise the Age law, which diverts most teen criminal cases to Family Court and lacks strict consequences for carrying loaded firearms.
Statistics show a significant increase in gun-related arrests of under-18s, with a rise in shooting victims under the age of 18. Law enforcement officials, including Albany District Attorney David Soares, have criticized the state government for implementing policies like Raise the Age and no-bail reforms that have normalized violence in minority communities.
Despite calls for reform, the Legislature has been reluctant to make changes. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie advocates for keeping adolescents out of adult courts but fails to strengthen the family-court system to handle violent teens effectively. Without the threat of real consequences, alternative activities like sports, music, and after-school programs lose their appeal to at-risk youth.
The Legislature has the opportunity to address these issues during the current session and amend the Raise the Age law before more young lives are lost to senseless violence.
