Blake’s Public Safety Policy Plan
Vision:
Michael Blake’s vision for public safety is grounded in a fundamental truth: you can’t have true safety without housing, mental health, trust, and equity. For too long, communities of color have been over-policed, under-protected, and displaced from the neighborhoods they helped build. Public safety isn’t just about law enforcement, it’s about dignity, stability, and a city that serves everyone. Blake’s plan aims to restore the social contract between people and government, where protection is built on fairness, equity, and inclusion. True safety requires investing in systems that create opportunity, strengthen mental health infrastructure, and empower communities through economic stability and justice. Without trust and equity, no amount of policing will make our communities feel truly safe.
This Public Safety Plan centers the people who keep our city running: sanitation workers, teachers, small business owners, and families. They deserve neighborhoods that are affordable, welcoming, and secure. Their well-being is inseparable from how safe our streets feel and how policies reflect their needs. That’s why Blake is committed to bold reforms that reinvest in affordable housing, mental health care, and community-led solutions. Public safety must uplift, not criminalize our most vulnerable residents. It is not a single program, but a coordinated system of investments, services, and accountability rooted in trust, transparency, and shared prosperity.
COMMUNITY-BASED SAFETY THAT WORKS
We cannot get to hope until we address the fear. Public safety is not just about numbers, it’s about how people feel. And right now, too many New Yorkers feel unsafe and unheard. That fear erodes trust and weakens social cohesion. Public safety must focus on healing communities, not just reacting to crises.
Only 37% of New Yorkers rated public safety in their neighborhood as excellent or good in 2023, down from 50% in 2017. Meanwhile, violent crime is down, including murders (-24.2%), robberies (-26%), and shootings (-21.5%) as of early 2025, showing a mismatch between perception and reality. We must bridge the gap between statistical trends and community experience. That means prioritizing communication, visibility, and results that people can feel and see.
Moreover, neighborhoods such as East Harlem, Fordham, Brownsville, and East Flatbush continue to represent a high concentration of violent crime, with many consistently ranking among the top for shootings over the past 30 years. These neighborhoods have also faced decades of disinvestment, redlining, and systemic neglect. Public safety must start with an honest reckoning of those historic harms and a commitment to sustained resources.
SAFER STREETS THROUGH HOUSING AND STABILITY
Public safety and affordable housing go hand in hand. When people can afford to live in the communities where they work, serve, and raise families, our city becomes safer, stronger, and more connected. Stable housing reduces stress, strengthens family bonds, and gives young people hope for the future. Housing security gives residents the breathing room to focus on their well-being, education, and civic engagement. Stability keeps families rooted, schools consistent, and communities vibrant.
Key Policy Actions:
- Blake will pass a new tax break to support middle-income homeowners and renters, reducing financial pressure on the people who keep New York running, from first responders to nurses and teachers. This tax relief will be targeted and progressive, providing real savings for everyday New Yorkers. It also incentivizes long-term residency and discourages speculative displacement.
- Rikers must be closed. Under Blake’s leadership, New York will move to borough-based housing for justice-involved individuals with meaningful programming focused on education, mental health, and job training. This approach humanizes rehabilitation while reducing the harms of incarceration. Smaller, localized facilities also strengthen family connections and community oversight.
- Blake will establish a permanent Immigrant Services Director to ensure legal support, language access, and business resources for immigrant New Yorkers. This role will work across agencies to remove systemic barriers facing immigrants and improve their access to justice and opportunity. Immigrants are essential to New York’s fabric, and their safety must be non-negotiable.
MENTAL HEALTH AS THE FOUNDATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY
Public safety begins with mental health. A person in crisis needs support and care, not a criminal record or a baton. When we lead with compassion, we save lives and rebuild trust. Blake will lead the way by prioritizing a citywide shift from over-policing to care-first intervention.
Key Policy Actions:
- Deploy 1,000 mental health professionals on subways and trains to replace police officers and national guard in non-violent response roles. These professionals will be trained in crisis intervention, de-escalation, and trauma-informed care. Their presence will create safer commutes and reduce unnecessary police interactions.
- Increase funding to Overdose Prevention Centers, drawing down from Opioid Settlement Funds. These centers save lives and connect people to long-term recovery resources. Using settlement funds ensures we are holding corporations accountable while directly helping those harmed.
- Implement involuntary commitment protocols for individuals with severe mental illness or addiction who pose a danger to themselves or others, ensuring civil liberties are respected. Protocols will be designed with safeguards, medical oversight, and periodic review. The goal is not punishment, but timely stabilization and protection.
STRATEGIC POLICING REFORM
Policing must be about transparency, deterrence, and respect, not fear or budget bloat. That starts with rebalancing how we allocate resources, recruit officers, and track performance. Reform means building systems that reward prevention, not overreach.
Key Policy Actions:
- Return NYPD staffing to pre-pandemic levels, which will help decrease excessive overtime costs and reduce fiscal waste while improving public safety.
- Cut the NYPD’s $1.4 billion overtime budget and redirect funds into youth jobs, housing, and health.
- Ensure every officer is equipped with body cameras that are always turned on, and trained in de-escalation. Body cameras increase accountability and reduce false claims.
- Create and publish a police misconduct registry, along with clear rationale for the resolution of prior infractions, ensuring public accountability.
- Expand walking patrols in high-crime areas using Precision Policing — data-informed deployment, deep community partnerships, and culturally competent service delivery — to deter violence and build trust.
- Expand access to Detective and Sergeant promotional exams.
- Collaborate with Albany to ensure repeat offenders face real consequences.
- Equip Peace Officers in NYCHA and other targeted areas with training, response tools, and a dedicated 3- or 4-digit mental health emergency number.
PREVENTION, NOT JUST RESPONSE
Prevention must be the cornerstone of any serious public safety strategy. Reactive measures alone cannot break cycles of violence, poverty, or trauma. True safety is built when we invest in people and places before harm occurs through jobs, education, and community trust.
Key Policy Actions:
- Scale up year-round municipal jobs and paid internships for youth under 25 with higher wages, recognizing that employment is a powerful crime deterrent.
- Increase focus on gun removal and stopping ghost guns and bump stocks from getting on the streets.
- Expand Cure Violence and violence interrupter programs in neighborhoods with high recidivism and low economic opportunity.
- Reinvest in Crisis Management Systems, Violence Interruption, and Community Center funding.
- Continue to fund and expand efforts to hold people accountable for hate crimes, including Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Anti-Blackness, Anti-Latino sentiment, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination.
BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFER COMMUNITIES
Key Policy Actions:
- Targeted Infrastructure Investments in NYCHA and neglected areas such as lighting, sanitation, and public space upgrades.
- Crime-Preventing Design Changes such as improved pedestrian zones, signage, and transit safety upgrades.
- Modernized Constituent Services including a mobile-first platform with AI routing, live translation, and real-time status updates.
- Improve lighting and reduce scaffolding in areas where poor visibility contributes to crime and disorder.
POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY
Key Policy Actions:
- Reject I.C.E. at schools, community centers, and places of worship, as it creates continued tension, fear, and decreased attendance rates.
- Prioritize hiring officers from the communities they serve.
- Establish shared oversight with the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
- Launch a real-time public dashboard that tracks crime, complaints, and accountability.
FOUR IMMEDIATE CITYWIDE STRATEGIES
- Weekly Incident Review Meetings at City Hall to coordinate safety agencies using data-driven transparency. This will align operations across NYPD, FDNY, EMS, social services, and violence interrupter groups. A unified response ensures no neighborhood falls through the cracks.
- Focus on High-Risk Individuals through credible messengers and wraparound services. Credible messengers build trust and shift behavior in ways traditional policing cannot. This approach offers mentorship, employment access, and violence mediation.
- Police-Community Partnerships in Hot Spots combining strategic deployment and outreach. These partnerships will include regular listening sessions, community patrols, and co-designed interventions. The goal is not just presence, but mutual accountability.
- Reinvest in Violence Interruption programs, scaling up Cure Violence and other programs with full staffing and outcome tracking. This will include metrics on shooting reductions, program retention, and employment transitions. Community leaders must be empowered and paid like the essential workers they are.
SOURCES:
-CBCNY Resident Survey Brief, March 2024:
https://cbcny.org/sites/default/files/media/files/CBCREPORT_Resident-Survey-Brief_03192024_5.pdf
-NY Post, Subway Safety Perception, 2024:
https://nypost.com/2024/11/02/us-news/over-half-of-nyc-straphangers-feel-unsafe-unsatisfied-in-2024
-NYC Government Press Release, Crime Down Across NYC 2024:
https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/news/pr001/crime-down-across-new-york-city-2024-3-662-fewer-crimes
-NYC Crime Stats Update, January 2025:
-Vital City NYC, Crime and Neighborhood Hotspots Report 2024:
https://www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/vital-signs-state-of-the-city-on-crime-2024
