Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced grants have been awarded to six community organizations for the implementation of her office’s Queens Community Violence Prevention Project (QCVPP). The District Attorney’s initiative aims to improve public safety and promote the fair administration of justice through the implementation of community-based violence prevention strategies.

District Attorney Katz said, “Ensuring public safety requires a multi-faceted approach. While we continue to focus on drivers of crime, we cannot prosecute our way out of the surge of violence that has plagued our borough and our City. We must continue working with the community to develop and implement meaningful prevention strategies that address the underlying needs of at-risk individuals and empower our young people to make good choices. The Queens Community Violence Prevention Project represents a concrete plan of action to advance these efforts.”

The request for proposals was announced by DA Katz in March 2021 in response to the rise in incidents of shootings and homicides within Queens County, particularly in the Southeast Queens community. The goals of the Project include increasing community engagement in anti-gun violence activities, strengthening community-led responses to violent incidents, developing better connections to support services and enhancing positive relations with the NYPD in order to reduce violent crime.

District Attorney Katz continued, “I am excited to work with the groups that have been selected to lead the QCVPP. Each of these organizations contribute to the betterment of their communities by offering mental health services, job-readiness workshops, educational opportunities, mentorship programs, and more. They will now have additional resources to perform this important work across Queens County.”

The six awardees, and their respective service areas, are:

• 4ward Inclusion Consulting
  • Service areas: Queens School District 29; 103^rd, 105^th, 113^th Precincts
• Church of God Christian Academy
  • Service area: Far Rockaway
• Community Capacity Development
  • Service area: 113^th Precinct
• Fathers Alive in the Hood
  • Service area: Far Rockaway; South Jamaica
• Greater Bethel Community Development Corporation
  • Service area: 103^rd Precinct
• New Order of Solutions
  • Service areas: 105^th, 113^th Precincts

The grants, totaling $300,000, were awarded for the duration of the 2021 Fiscal Year (July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022). The project will operate under the general guidance of Assistant District Attorney Aisha Greene, Chief of the Rehabilitation Programs and Restorative Services Bureau at the Queens District Attorney’s Office.