Red Hook’s Stop the Violence Fair, by Nathan Weiser

On the last Saturday of June, Red Hook Houses hosted an anti-violence fair in Coffey Park.
The Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP) network engages residents impacted by violence with support services and resources. Many neighborhood and city organizations set up information tables at the fair.

There was the Red Hook Community Justice Center, representatives from Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s office, New York Housing Authority Health Initiatives, NYCHA Resident Economic Empowerment and Sustainability, NYC Sanitation, FDNY, NYC Health, Red Hook Community Resilience Corps, Redemption Church in Red Hook and the NYC Mayor’s Office to end domestic and gender-based violence.

The Police Athletic League had an inflatable area where kids could throw a football.
Resident leaders in the Red Hook public housing development provided support services to increase safety awareness, promote healthy relationships and food access.

The resource fair is part of the Safe Summer series where communities across NYC rally in an effort to mitigate ongoing local gun violence and preserve the health and wellness of the surrounding neighborhoods.

Saturday’s fair was the first one in Brooklyn, but they have previously had one in upper Manhattan and one in the Bronx so far, according to the Red Hook Justice Center.
Derick Scott, who is the founder of Helping Our Own Develop (HOOD), brought his organization to the fair.
“The message is love,” Scott said. “We have to change the narrative. Something is wrong with these people, something has happened to them and it is on our shoulders to find out what happened, so that we can start the cure.”

“When it comes out, the first question we ask is what is wrong with this kid. Something has happened to this kid and he needs everybody’s help. She needs everybody’s help. It is not longer what we say out of our mouth, it is what we prove in our actions.

The founder of the organization said a little thing people can do to improve the community is to clean up in the area and on the street. This is an example to show to the children.
He added that ones neighbors in the building and down the block are ones extended families.
“Freedom is a state of mind, not a place of being,” Scott said. “We all learn from on another. Each one, reach one, to teach one. We have to do this together. It is peace up, guns down.”