On August 3, 2011, the New York Urban League (NYUL) hosted Harlem Community Dialogues on Promoting Safety. Scores of residents descended on Harlem’s Schomburg Library for a private discussion with community leaders and elected officials to discuss violence in Harlem. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, Geoffrey Canada, Harlem Children’s Zone; Chancellor Dennis Walcott, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, and NYCHA Chairman John Rhea all addressed the group as well as community.   Many spoke about ways to improve the relationship between the community and police and how to engage with youth in an effort to deter youth violence.  As a first response to the dialogue, NYUL has  created a Harlem Youth Council where young people from throughout Harlem can come together and discuss issues of community concern. Working with youth in Harlem was our first step.

A second step is to develop a plan of action and this cannot be done without broadening the dialogue and engaging more stakeholders - especially you.   In order to plan an action agenda, we need to hear from those most affected by the violence in our neighborhoods.  We hope that you will take 5 minutes to complete this survey.  We also hope you will join us for our Annual Meeting on Thursday, December 1 at 6:00pm at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.