NEWBURGH – Mayor Torrance Harvey’s plan to have the Mount Vernon-based Ruff Ryders of the Hudson Valley establish a branch in the City of Newburgh never got off the ground.
While the mayor believed it was a worthwhile program to help resolve the gun violence issue in the city, he couldn’t secure the local backing needed.
“I didn’t have the support, to be very frank, with the council members and the executive staff in putting our money where our mouth is, and so we continue to work with the great organization known as SNUG, which is ‘guns’ spelled backward, a systematic way of eliminating guns and gun violence in our city as a choice to escalating conflicts,” he said.
In recent months, Harvey has created a Mayor’s Council on Gun Violence where he has brought together the faith community and other community leaders in an effort to reduce gun violence in Newburgh.
