It's the Brian Laris Show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone. We'll begin today with New York City's deputy mayor for community safety. Renita Francois, appointed by Mayor Mammondani to run the new

office of community safety that he hopes will keep the city safe in different ways from the

police department. This, of course, is in addition to the police department. Yesterday, the mayor

held a kind of summer is coming public safety event with Governor Kathy Hockel and Police Commissioner Jessica

Tish in the Bronx.

Our hope is that this is a fun summer.

It's maybe slightly a less hot summer than today.

I feel like I'm going to dissolve in front of you and that it's going to be a safe summer.

That event was more focused on a change to policing in the Bronx than on

the Office of Community Safety's work. But in a written press release, the mayor said

alongside an Office of Community Safety focused on preventing violence before it happens by

connecting New Yorkers to the support they need. We are taking a whole of government approach

to public safety,

unquote. So let's discuss how that's taking shape with the deputy mayor for community safety,

Renita Francois. Her previous positions include chief program officer at the Progressive Advocacy

Group, Beyond Impact, and she was executive director under Mayor de Blasio of the mayor's action

plan for neighborhood safety. Deputy Mayor, thanks for joining us. Welcome back to WNYC.

Thank you for having me. It's nice to be with you today. Can you do the basics for our listeners?

First, it's still new enough, especially those who don't yet understand how an Office of Community Safety will lead to Community Safety differently from the NYPD or other agencies that already exist?

Yeah, so the Office of Community Safety, it brings together the offices and organizations and people working in our city to both strengthen

the social fabric of our communities and support them in times of need. It's really about

education, investing in young people, providing culturally specific support, increasing our

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