WFCN —
The city of New York is undergoing a monumental cleaning. Joined by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the Midtown Community Improvement Coalition will unite community and business leaders with law enforcement to tackle public safety and quality of life concerns in Midtown Manhattan.
The Midtown Community Improvement Coalition is comprised of over twenty local agencies, service providers, and other community and government partners; it is modeled after the successful 125th Street Business Improvement District (BID) Interagency Hub.
Retail theft, drug usage, the mental health crises, beautification, unlawful scaffolding, unlicensed cannabis stores, and other public safety issues will all be tackled by the partnership. Regular walkthroughs will be conducted by teams deployed by the coalition to observe issues as they happen and to communicate with local community members and businesses.
In addition, they will be able to pinpoint which local residents may be in need of referrals to various city agencies or service providers for things like housing or healthcare.
“We are doubling down on our commitment to improving quality of life, protecting public safety, and beautifying these historic and beloved neighborhoods for working-class New Yorkers,” Mayor Adams said of the Midtown Community Improvement Coalition’s founding.
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The success of our efforts depends on the community’s involvement because, as a whole, the government and the community must work together to make New York City a better place to live for everyone. All of our collaborators, you have made our city a better place, and we are grateful.
Our city’s and the region’s economic health depends on Midtown Manhattan. According to Manhattan District Attorney Bragg, “it’s among the busiest commercial districts in the entire world.” The district is home to thousands of permanent inhabitants, prominent tourist attractions, restaurants, merchants, and transportation hubs that serve as the city’s front doors.
Everyone in the region will benefit from increased public safety and a higher standard of living thanks to this new alliance, which pools the assets and knowledge of numerous organizations and service providers. The 125th Street Hub was a huge success for these kinds of interagency partnerships, and I have no doubt that Midtown will be no different. The dedication of the New York Police Department, the Garment District Alliance, the Times Square Alliance, and Mayor Adams and his administration are greatly appreciated.
In an effort to address public safety and quality of life issues in the areas bounded by 34th Street to 45th Street, between 7th Avenue and 9th Avenue, and 34th Street to 37th Street on 8th Avenue, the Adams administration and community partners have been working together since 2023 to form the coalition.
The Times Square Alliance’s Tom Harris, the Garment District Alliance’s Barbara Blair, and the Midtown South Precinct Community Council’s Brian Weber serve as co-chairs. First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright was instrumental in launching Mayor Adams’s “Community Link” program in 2023. In order to handle complicated and frequently ongoing community issues that necessitate a multi-agency response, Community Link unites different city departments and agencies in collaboration with community members and corporate executives.
Community Link has been around for a while, but in the five boroughs it serves, it has already organized five coalitions to strengthen local communities. In response to 800 complaints and 600 operations, these coalitions have been actively working to improve the quality of life in the areas they represent over the past 18 months.