On Friday, May 14, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman Maurice Hinchey, and Mayor Nick Valentine held a roundtable discussion on drug and gang challenges facing the Newburgh community. The session began with brief formal remarks before opening up to questions and comments from the invited community members.
Gillibrand said she is seeking funding for violence prevention efforts. From the Record:
Gillibrand said she is working on legislation that would designate $1 billion over five years toward operations that prevent violence. That would include operations such as Thursday’s raid on 78 suspected members of the Bloods and Latin Kings street gangs in Newburgh. Nearly 600 federal, state and local law enforcement agents descended on the city to arrest the targets. As of Friday evening, 64 of the 78 were in custody on federal drug charges.
Coverage of the press conference about Thursday’s raid here.
Full video of the roundtable below, or may be downloaded here:
