US News Metro Long Island Politics

Sports NFL MLB Olympics NBA NHL College Football College Basketball WNBA

Business Personal Finance

Entertainment TV Movies Music Celebrities Awards Theater

Lifestyle Weird But True Sex & Relationships Viral Trends Human Interest Parenting Fashion & Beauty Food & Drink Travel

Health Wellness Fitness Health Care Medicine Men’s Health Women’s Health Mental Health Nutrition

Science Space Environment Wildlife Archaeology

Today’s Paper Covers Columnists Horoscopes Crosswords & Games Sports Odds Podcasts Careers

Email Newsletters Official Store Home Delivery Tips

Switch between CA and NY editions here.

Strangle the gangs that plague NYCHA public housing — send in the dads

When 7-month-old Kaori Patterson was shot to death in her stroller in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, last week, even those inured to violent crime in our cities were shocked.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani was quick to blame the weapon fired in the drive-by shooting, calling the tragedy “a devastating reminder of just how much more work there is to be done . . . to combat gun violence across the city.”

The New York Police Department provided a more accurate explanation.

“We’re looking to see the possible connection (with) a beef between the Marcy Houses and Bushwick Houses, meaning the gang MOE,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

Kaori’s death wasn’t just “gun violence,” but part of the daily dysfunction of the New York City Housing Authority.

It’s almost taken for granted that each project has its own dominant gang claiming it as its turf — which undoubtedly contributes to the fact that the areas in and around public housing, with 4% of the city’s population, account for 20% of its violent crime.

74 NYCHA execs boast $200K-plus salaries — as NYC tenants go without heat, hot water, basic repairs

NYC goons who shot baby through head in drive-by were aiming for her dad: sources

Teen shot to death inside NYC public housing complex

To understand the East Williamsburg shooting, we have to focus on the roots of public-housing gang culture: The fact that two-parent families and fathers are a rarity in the projects, and too many fatherless teenage boys turn to gangs as a result.

Other than those over age 55, single-parent families comprise the largest population group in NYC’s public housing.  

Only 2% of all households are made up of two adults with their children.

We don’t yet know about the family background of the shooter who killed baby Kaori, but statistically speaking, young males in public housing are highly likely not to have a father in the home — and in fact won’t see many adult males at all.

They also won’t see many adults going off to work in the morning: Only a third of New York public housing households report wages as a source of income.

That’s a feature of the system, not a bug — top priority goes to the lowest-income households.

That means single parents.

The current rules that qualify New Yorkers for public housing have created isolated islands of fatherlessness, ideal for gang control.

We’ve long known that fatherless boys disproportionately seek companionship in gangs. 

Sociologist Stanley Taylor in 2013 cited “frustration and anxiety stemming from family problems such as fatherlessness” as a top driver of gang recruitment.

You’ll hear that at the Andrew Jackson Houses in The Bronx, where teenage boys fear to venture a few blocks away because of gang activity in a nearby public housing complex.  

“There are quite a few single households, predominantly women,” tenant leader Danny Barber has told me. “The young men develop an anger toward their own (absent) father and they take it out on the world.”

Yet there was a time, as Hunter College professor Nicolas Dagen-Bloom has explained, when NYCHA gave priority to two-parent working families. 

We should return to that very approach for new tenants — even if it gives a leg up to those who may earn more — and change the rules of who’s admitted to the projects in the first place by putting households with both mothers and fathers at the top of the NYCHA waiting list.

This would be no quick fix; it’s too much to expect responsible young fathers to confront gangs directly — though some might.

But a stronger network of two-parent families would help more sons resist gangs in the first place, reducing the new recruits that fuel them.

A 2022 Journal of Development Psychology study of black fathers and sons in Chicago found that strong father-son communication, as well as the regular presence of father figures, helped “keep sons safe from violence involvement and victimization.”

Priority for two-parent families should come with work requirements and a limit — five years, say — on subsidized-housing stays for new tenants, as the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has proposed.

Those changes would transform NYCHA’s culture from one of long-term, entrenched poverty (averaging 20 years) to one of upward mobility — and could even discourage the formation of new single-parent households in the first place.

In the short term, New York needs the NYPD gang unit to identify gang members, confiscate their guns and arrest them for their criminal acts.

Mamdani, who urged an end to the NYPD’s gang database during his campaign, has since evinced a change of heart.

Let’s hope he means it; a gang crackdown remains essential. 

But long-term, New York needs to create a new public housing culture — one that no longer provides the toxic soil from which gangs grow.

Howard Husock is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of “The Projects: A New History of Public Housing.”

Douglas Murray We must crush Iran now so it can't come back and spread terror

We must crush Iran now so it can't come back and spread terror

Rikki Schlott Nikki Glaser 'gets turned on' by her boyfriend hooking up with other women — let's call it what it really is, not 'empowerment'

Nikki Glaser 'gets turned on' by her boyfriend hooking up with other women — let's call it what it really is, not 'empowerment'

Betsy McCaughey Congress must stop immigrant welfare madness since Supreme Court won't

Congress must stop immigrant welfare madness since Supreme Court won't

Front Cover Back Cover

Trending Now on NYPost.com

This story has been shared 46,786 times. 46,786 Dad expecting 2nd child is beaten to death outside bar — as police search for 4 persons of interest

Dad expecting 2nd child is beaten to death outside bar — as police search for 4 persons of interest

This story has been shared 36,037 times. 36,037 Kristi Noem's loyal staffers axed after following scandal-ridden boss to new gig: 'You’re obviously not welcome'

Kristi Noem's loyal staffers axed after following scandal-ridden boss to new gig: 'You’re obviously not welcome'

This story has been shared 26,092 times. 26,092 Lawyer ignores jerk judge’s order to appear in court after critiquing him for berating IT worker

Lawyer ignores jerk judge’s order to appear in court after critiquing him for berating IT worker

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding date and location revealed as save the dates go out

Stream It Or Skip It: 'The Miniature Wife' On Peacock, Where A Married Couple Battle For Power After A Husband Accidentally Shrinks His Wife

Dad expecting 2nd child is beaten to death outside bar — as police search for 4 persons of interest

Sections & Features US News Metro World News Sports Sports Betting Business Opinion Entertainment Fashion & Beauty Shopping Lifestyle Real Estate Media Tech Science Health Travel Astrology Video Photos Alexa Covers Horoscopes Sports Odds Podcasts Crosswords & Games Columnists Classifieds

Post Sports+ Subscribe Articles Manage

Newsletters & Feeds Email Newsletters RSS Feeds NY Post Official Store Home Delivery Subscribe Manage Subscription Delivery Help

NY Post Official Store

Home Delivery Subscribe Manage Subscription

Help/Support About New York Post Editorial Standards New York Post Awards & Recognition Customer Service Apps Help Community Guidelines Contact Us Tips Newsroom Letters to the Editor Licensing & Reprints Careers Vulnerability Disclosure Program

New York Post Awards & Recognition

Contact Us Tips Newsroom Letters to the Editor Licensing & Reprints Careers Vulnerability Disclosure Program

Letters to the Editor

Vulnerability Disclosure Program

Apps iPhone App iPad App Android Phone Android Tablet

Advertise Media Kit Contact

© New York Post