#BHeard: Brownsville Rising Wednesday, November 18, 2020 - 15:45 Full

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In the summer of 2020, as New York City cautiously emerged from months of COVID-19 lockdown, a surge in gun violence took hold of its streets. As of November, the rate of murders and shootings doubled those of 2019. Brownsville, one of the neighborhoods hit hardest by the pandemic, reported a 183% increase in shooting incidents and an upsurge of almost 119% in the number of victims.

So what’s causing these alarming numbers and how is the community coming together to combat gun violence? A public defender, a community board member, a violence interrupter and an activist walk us through the many ways in which Brownsville is working towards making the streets safer.