The governor is prioritizing public safety

The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump once again brought attention to an issue that is important to all of us, regardless of our political affiliation: public safety. We’re all grateful that the attempt failed, but the fact that an apparently ordinary citizen so easily got hold of an assault-style rifle and was able to come within inches of incapacitating or killing a former president is frightening.

The investigation into exactly what happened during that rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and what measures will need to be taken to make sure it doesn’t happen again, will take months, if not years. The issue of protecting our fellow New Yorkers, however, is something Gov. Kathy Hochul must deal with on a daily basis.

Building on significant progress made in 2023, Hochul recently visited Glen Cove and announced new statistics reflecting the effectiveness of her leadership on the issue of public safety:

• A 44 percent drop in shooting incidents with injury on Long Island in the first six months of 2024, and a 27 percent decrease statewide during the same period the year before.
• A 15 percent reduction in total index crimes, a 4 percent reduction in violent crime and 16 percent reduction in property crime on Long Island, while the statewide average was a 9 percent reduction.
• A 17 percent decline in larcenies, and a 14 percent decrease in motor vehicle thefts.

While those numbers are encouraging, Hochul, along with my colleagues in the State Legislature, are committing the financial resources to ensure that we continue to build on that progress. At that same event, she announced the investment of more than $50 million in public safety in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, the largest such state investment ever, which was included in this year’s state budget. It includes $1.1 million for the Glen Cove Police Department for the purchase of law enforcement technology and equipment to allow it to be able to solve, reduce and prevent crime more effectively.

While this local investment is great news for the city and the surrounding area, the overall commitment to public safety and the multifaceted methods of crime prevention in the 2025 budget are a benefit for all New Yorkers. They include funding to crack down on organized retail theft, combat the rising tide of hate crimes, make targeted investments in communities to prevent gun violence and domestic violence, and reduce recidivism and improve re-entry for formerly incarcerated people across the state.

The 2025 fiscal year state budget includes:

• $80 million to offset the costs of discovery reform implementation and pretrial procedure changes in all 62 counties. Nassau County received roughly $3.6 million, and Suffolk County, roughly $4 million.
• $59.46 million in aid to prosecution funding for the state’s 62 district attorneys’ offices. Nassau County received nearly $3 million, and Suffolk, about $3.3 million.
• Nearly $36 million for the Gun Involved Violence Elimination Initiative to support personnel, overtime, equipment and technology in 21 counties outside New York City (including Nassau and Suffolk) that participate.
• $20 million in pretrial services in the 57 counties outside New York City. Nassau County received nearly $1.8 million, and Suffolk, just over $2 million.
• $35 million for the Securing Communities Against Hate grant to protect houses of worship, religious schools and other at-risk sites, plus the addition of 28 hate-crime eligible offenses.
• $40.8 million to reduce domestic violence and support victims of domestic violence.
• $7.1 million to reduce recidivism and improve re-entry into the workforce for parolees.
• $40.2 million for dedicated retail theft teams in the state police, district attorneys’ offices and local law enforcement, and a $5 million tax credit to help small businesses invest in added security measures such as cameras.

In addition, a new law establishes deed theft as a crime and expands the statute of limitations for it to five years after the commission of a crime or two years after a homeowner becomes aware of the theft, whichever is later.

From her first days in office, Hochul has shown a commitment to fighting crime. While the promising statistics cited above show her efforts are paying off, the investments made in the budget by her, and my, legislative colleagues on both the state and local levels show that, working together, we are only getting started in our efforts to keep New Yorkers safe.

Charles Lavine represents the 13th Assembly District.