FIRST ON amNY: Mayor Adams expected to unveil $163 million investment to curb youth crime at state of the city address

Mayor Eric Adams is set to announce massive investments in youth programs during his State of the City address Thursday, amNewYork Metro has learned.

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According to City Hall sources, the announcement promises to allocate $163 million over five fiscal years to programs designed especially for underserved youth and those at risk of falling into crime or gang activity. Officials say this will work to provide kids with career and college opportunities, but will also connect with counseling and believe that doing so will ultimately work to drive down crime as a result by keeping them off the streets and engaged

“When you look at the populations we are serving through these programs, you see a prioritization of groups that no other city or previous administration has cared enough about. Mayor Adams has cared from day one. With this investment, we are advancing evidence-based models that are leading the country,” Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom said. “Our most vulnerable young people have been our focus since the beginning of our administration, because the mayor believes in second chances, and that everyone deserves people around them who care.”

Programs expected to receive the funding include Fair Futures, an initiative that provides one-on-one coaching as well as social-emotional, academic, career, housing, and life skills supports to young people who are currently or have been involved in the foster care and juvenile justice system ages 11 to age 26.

College Choice, a program that offers college tuition, room and board assistance, individualized support and stipends for young people in foster care, so they can attend the college without the burden of the hefty price tag.

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As well as GirlsJustUs, a diversion program for girls and LGBTQ+ young people who are either involved or at high risk of involvement in the juvenile legal system. Assertive Community Engagement & Success, a program that provides evidence-based services to high-risk youth who have been involved with the justice system. The program provides social pathways away from gang and gun violence to young people between the ages of 16-24. This program will now be expanded citywide, and more.

This comes as teen shooting deaths spiked in 2024. In November of 2024, the Big Apple saw 15 youths under the age of 18 murdered by gunfire year-to-date this year, compared to 12 in 2023. Moreover, authorities say that 438 people under the age of 18 have been arrested for possession of a firearm this year alone, accounting for 12% of all gun arrests in New York.

“By investing in our most successful programs that engage at-risk youth and those in foster care, we are not just equipping our young people with the tools they need to go to college or get a good-paying job, we are also making our streets safer today and tomorrow,” Mayor Adams said. “We are continuing our work to create a safer, more affordable city and make New York City the best place to raise a family.”