CUNY ISLG Partners with Brooklyn DA’s Office to Reduce Gun Violence in Flatbush

By Carla Sinclair, Communications Project Director

With promising results from Bedford-Stuyvesant, the Kings County District Attorney seeks a community organization to implement Project Restore in Flatbush and to partner with CUNY ISLG to measure progress, build capacity, and create new possibilities for the neighborhood’s young people.

In 2023, a pilot program in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood helped reduce shootings by 28 percent and felony assaults by 22 percent—and enrolled young people at risk of involvement with gun violence in college instead. None of them got involved with gun violence. This was all done with a cost-benefit ratio of $6.70 for every $1 spent.

Earlier this spring, the Kings County District Attorney (KCDA) expanded Project Restore to Brownsville. Now, in collaboration with CUNY ISLG, the initiative is coming to Flatbush.

Project Restore is an innovative, community-centered initiative that works to reduce gang-related and retaliatory violence, improve community safety, and support the positive development of young people ages 15-28 most at risk of involvement in gun violence. The program aims to interrupt cycles of violence and harm before they escalate by helping participants find alternatives to participation in gangs or street crews/formations, as well as provides them with trauma-informed, community-led interventions rooted in restorative justice and public health principles.

With the expansion to Flatbush, KCDA is seeking one community organization to administer Project Restore in the neighborhood. The chosen organization will provide participants with strengths-based case management, mentorship, and internship opportunities, as well as connect them with life skills training and restorative justice healing circles at partner organizations. CUNY ISLG is working with KCDA to support the implementation and administration of the program, as well as to help measure performance and build capacity for the partner community organizations.

With the expansion to Flatbush, KCDA is seeking one community organization to administer Project Restore in the neighborhood. The chosen organization will provide participants with strengths-based case management, mentorship, and internship opportunities.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said, “In Brooklyn, we have driven homicides and shootings to record lows, and Project Restore in Bedford-Stuyvesant has been a vital part of that success. Our recent expansion to Brownsville, and now this upcoming launch in Flatbush, represents a critical opportunity for a community partner to join us in this lifesaving and transformative work. We are looking for an organization rooted in the fabric of Flatbush to help us replace the cycle of violence with a cycle of opportunity, ensuring that our most vulnerable young people have the support they need to build a peaceful and thriving future.”

“We are looking for an organization rooted in the fabric of Flatbush to help us replace the cycle of violence with a cycle of opportunity, ensuring that our most vulnerable young people have the support they need to build a peaceful and thriving future.”

- Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez

“Project Restore has already proven what can happen when communities lead: fewer shootings, fewer assaults, and more young people able to pursue a thriving future,” said Sarah Cassel, Senior Policy Associate at CUNY ISLG. “We're excited to partner with the Kings County District Attorney's Office to bring this proven model to Flatbush, and we look forward to supporting the community organization that will make this a reality on the ground."

The selected community organization for this initiative may be granted an award of up to $986,000 in FY27 and $1,500,000 in FY28 for the 20-month program. This funding can be used for personnel services, other than personnel services (OTPS) items in support of programming (e.g. participant stipends, renting space, hosting events, etc.), and an indirect cost rate (IDC).  

Learn more about the request-for-proposal (RFP) and apply here.