How A Non-Profit is Trying To Change The Effects of Mass Incarceration on Youth

By: Melani Bonilla

The effects of mass incarceration on communities of color in New York City are a result of housing segregation and youth incrimination by the NYPD and New York City legislature, which organizations like Neighborhood Benches are trying to change.

Housing segregation is responsible for dividing people of color from white population numbers through housing developments provided by the New York City Housing Authority.

The NYCHA buildings include developments in all five boroughs, with over 177,000 apartments and 335 housing units. There is a high statistic of Black and Latino populations housed in these buildings.

An examination by The City in 2021 reported, “NYCHA fared even worse. Shootings rose by 103%, from 155 to 314, while murders jumped by nearly 50%, from 47 to 70. Both increases exceeded the citywide percentages.”

A high number of reported crimes occur specifically in the boroughs of the Bronx and Harlem, where there are the most NYCHA buildings with 100 in the Bronx and 102 in Manhattan.

A report from the NYPD provided crime rates in the 44th Precinct in 2021, presenting a total of 2,726 crimes including murder, rape, robbery, assault, and grand larceny.

The 44th Precinct includes areas of the South Bronx such as the Grand Concourse, Bronx Terminal Market and Yankee Stadium.

William M. Evans grew up in the 44th Precinct, specifically the Andrew Jackson Houses. In an interview, he stated “I saw many young people, my age (15) back then, use substances like marijuana and indulge in drugs. It was part of their survival, they needed to find a way to cope.”

Evans, 45, is the founder of Neighborhood Benches, an organization dedicated to providing youth leadership and mentoring to build communities in NYCHA housing developments.

Evans created the organization after being wrongfully incarcerated more than once during police raids in his neighborhood. His first arrest was at the age of 15, forcing him to move out of his grandmother’s care and live on the street due to NYCHA’s Permanent Exclusions for Criminal Conduct.

The NYCHA website explains this, “Permanent Exclusion happens when NYCHA brings a “termination of tenancy” action against a NYCHA tenant for dangerous conduct that violates the tenant’s lease agreement.”

Even with laws like this in place, NYCHA continues to be susceptible to raids by the NYPD. In these raids, the NYPD casts a wide net of possible perpetrators - arresting and incriminating innocent youth in the process.

A study by the Prison Policy Initiative indicated, “Looking more closely at incarceration by offense type also exposes some disturbing facts about the 49,000 youth in confinement in the United States: too many are there for a “most serious offense” that is not even a crime.”

These offenses have ranged from hanging around the block to just congregating in an open space to hang out with friends.

Once the youth is in the system, it is harder for them to continue their education and career due to their criminal background.

Evans has been a victim of this himself, which is why he created a network of Credible Messengers who are formerly incarcerated men and women that guide and mentor young people.

Paul Zigler, 56, is the Vice President of the 146th Street Block Association and one of these Credible Messengers. He is pushing for change in his neighborhood by partaking in initiatives in partnership with Neighborhood Benches.

One of these initiatives is a Halloween event that occurred on October 29th, where food, drinks, and candy were available for kids.

During the event, Zigler commented on the changes he hopes to put into effect in an interview. “We’ve been pushing for a speed bump. There’s a park and a school on the same block and people speed like they’re on the freeway. It’s dangerous for the kids, and we need to think about them first.” Zigler said.

Zigler went through many things in adulthood, incarceration being one of them. It is only one of the many reasons he has become a Credible Messenger and a leader for youth.

A report said, “Mass incarceration is spatially concentrated in the most disadvantaged, segregated Black neighborhoods in US cities, with a number of minority communities accounting for the majority of incarcerated individuals (15, 16).”

These neighborhoods are majorly NYCHA developments, such as the ones Evan and Zigler grew up in and are trying to build up.

When youth is exposed to mass incarceration, it makes them more susceptible to a variety of problems in their adulthood.

The National Library of Medicine released a study saying, “Children exposed to parental incarceration have an increased likelihood of long-term negative outcomes, including depression, anxiety, withdrawal, difficulties forming healthy relationships, aggressive behaviors, substance use, developmental delays, and academic difficulties.”

These negative outcomes lead to young children using drugs, and other coping mechanisms when there is no one to teach them otherwise.

Mass incarceration takes parents, opportunities and education away from young children. It’s made possible through NYCHA and New York City legislature and actions.

Evans said in the interview, “Kids try to follow who they believe to be the hippest, the coolest, the best dressed. We’re trying to be those people for them because we understand what it’s like to be a kid without guidance trying to move away from what we think we’re supposed to be.”