“Our Rochester community is reeling from the latest wave of violence. 2022 hasn’t been an easy year for our families and communities. From the killing of 14-year-old Julius Greer, who was shot on his way to the corner store, to the shooting of 16-year-old Zahira Smith at a friend’s birthday party, to the recent killing of Officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz, our city is in a state of shock and grief. Every person deserves to feel safe in their home and neighborhood. And after all we’ve been through over the past two years between the pandemic, the killing of Daniel Prude, and the eviction crisis, we owe it to people to not throw false solutions at the problem or give in to fear-mongering or political grandstanding.
“The safest communities have the most resources, not the highest incarceration rates. We must have the courage and resolve to make deep investments in our neighborhoods, expand access to mental health care and substance use services, create job and recreation opportunities for youth, and end the evictions and unreasonable rent hikes that are destabilizing our neighborhoods.
“Returning to mass criminalization, mass incarceration, and other failed enforcement strategies won’t create the safety we need and deserve. This is the moment to come together and demand that long overdue resources are delivered to Rochester’s highest-need neighborhoods. Only when our communities have equitable resources will we finally be able to break free of the cycle of violence.”
Citizen Action of New York
City-Wide Tenant Union of Rochester
Free the People Roc
New York Working Families Party
The Pachamama Alliance of Rochester
Rochester Democratic Socialists of America
ROCitizen
Shades of Sisterhood
SURJ Rochester
Sunrise Movement – Rochester Chapter
Teen Empowerment
VOCAL-NY
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