Political leaders rallied with residents last Saturday in response to a recent wave of gun violence.
On Saturday, March 19, Senator Jeff Klein, Assemblyman Michael Benedetto, Councilman James Vacca, the Throggs Neck Residents Council and Stand Up to Violence rallied against gun violence at the Throggs Neck Houses.
The rally began at 2829 Dewey Avenue, the same location where a 32-year old woman was shot in the wrist, on Dewey Avenue near Swinton Avenue at about 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 10.
The woman who was shot was treated at Jacobi Medical Center.
On Tuesday, March 8, a young man was shot less than 400 feet away from the location where the woman was shot two days later.
The goal of the rally was to bring awareness to gun violence.
We need to stop violence in its tracks,” said Klein, who has allocated over $1 million over the past few years to SUV, a unique violence prevention program that deploys ‘credible messengers’ and ‘violence interrupters’ to mediate conflict in the community and help high-risk individuals in targeted, high-crime areas in the borough.
“Today, I join with community leaders and active residents here at the Throggs Neck Houses to bring awareness to this problem,” said Benedetto.
“People should not have to fear for their safety when walking down the street,” Vacca said.
“It is time that we take back our community,” said Monique Johnson, president of the Throggs Neck Residents Council. “If we continue to allow fear to paralyze us then we will continue to be victims and not victors.”
“In unity, there is strength, and in strength, there is power,” Johnson added.
