The June 3rd shooting was reported here. http://awalkintheparknyc.blogspot.com/2011/06/16-year-old-shot-playing-basketball.html
I couldn't find any links to the June 30th shooting in the media, but I have been in contact with a reporter from dnainfo.

I just talked to a reporter from dnaindo.com. There should be a story on the shootings in the next couple of days.

thanks for following up - i think that people should know about this - 116th/morningside and the surrounding area looks really pretty but it definitely has problems with drugs, loitering, etc.

Here is the article.
http://www.dnainfo.com/20110712/harlem/morningside-park-shootings-worry-area-parents

thanks for getting this issue reported on dna.info - hopefully more people will become aware of this issue and lobby for more foot patrols in the area and more enforcement of the regulations of park use.

Here is a link to more media coverage.
http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-morningside-park-shootings,0,7700292.story

Keep up the pressure on local officials to take action! There is a Town Hall Meeting with many of the local leaders on July 21st from 6 to 8PM at The Church of the Ascension at 221W 107th Street.
http://harlemworldblog.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/join-us-for-manhattan-valley-morningside-heights-town-hall/

There was a Special Joint Meeting of Manhattan Community Boards 9 and 10 today. Unfortunately it was a closed meeting, but they are in the process of scheduling a meeting that is open to the public. I will post the information once I have it. Today Manhattan Community Boards 9 and 10 met with the 26th and 28th Precincts, Patrol Borough Manhattan North, District Attorney Cy Vance's Office, the Manhattan Borough President's Office and Friends of Morningside Park to discuss the recent string of shootings in the area in and around Morningside Park.

Here is a statement from Marcel Braithwaite, Director of Full-Time Centers at PAL, about the recent violence in the community.


We are all duly concerned about the recent increase in youth violence and gang activity in Harlem. The Police Athletic League is committed to increasing opportunities and activities for our teens and young people that provide them with safe and productive environments, and to support and inspire them to reach their full potential as productive members of society. As part of that effort, we would like to invite all youth, parents and concerned community members to join us for an open forum discussion regarding community violence and alternatives to violence for youth on July 29th on the corner of 119th and Manhattan Avenue. Organizations and service providers will gather at 6pm. The program starts at 6:30 and runs to 9pm.

This is an initiative started by Reverend Williams, of Positive Presence for Peace; however staff members from the Police Athletic League will be present and prepared to discuss additional opportunities for community engagement around the issue of teen violence. We encourage all concerned parents to attend this important event. If you have any questions, please email Jamilah Clark at jclark@palnyc.org.

The Police Athletic League has been aggressively pursuing funding to support teen programming for over 20 years. Fortunately we have seen a moderate increase in funding to support teen programming in Harlem in the last two years. In 2010 we offered our Youth Link program for teens, Internships, Truancy programming and evening Teen Center two nights a week. In the 2011 program year, we’re expanding our service to teens with an additional night of Teen Center, a Probation program and an Apprenticeship program. As we obtain additional resources to support programming for teens, we will expand our capacity to address the growing issue of teen violence in the community.

The Together with the NYPD and the law enforcement community, the Police Athletic League is dedicated to providing for all New York City youth.

Marcel Braithwaite
Director of Full-Time Centers
Police Athletic League, Inc.
34½ East 12th Street
New York, NY 10003
Tel. (212) 477-9450 Ext. 394
Fax (212) 477-6504

Here is another statement from Harlem4Kids.
July 13, 2011
An Important Message from the Board of Harlem4Kids
As you know, Harlem4Kids is a non-profit organization that seeks to support an inclusive community of Harlem families through fun and creative programs which celebrate cultural diversity. Harlem4Kids was founded by five neighborhood parents in 2006 and is still run exclusively by a board of parent volunteers. The H4K listserve, which the board founded and administers, is intended as an open forum for residents to share information relevant to children and families in Harlem. Earlier this year we reached the milestone of over 1000 subscribers.
Like other Harlem residents, the increase of gun violence across our community is of great concern to the H4K board. In fact, we believe that the severity of the situation demands that we take the following stance as an organization:
· We endorse the community solidarity letter circulated on the H4K listserv calling for the city to respond to the escalation of violence in our community. We demand our mayor, elected officials, and law enforcement officials take action.

· We urge elected officials, law enforcement officers, community groups, business and religious leaders to work together to find holistic solutions for the violence, most crucially to support programs that engage and provide opportunity for our youth.

· We urge fellow parents and residents to join us at a Town Hall meeting on July 21. We feel a strong showing of H4K parents would make a statement to officials that our concerns need to be addressed immediately.

Here are the details for the meeting: Manhattan Valley and Morningside Heights Town Hall Meeting, Thursday July 21, 6-8 pm, The Church of the Ascension, 221 West 107th St, between Amsterdam and Broadway. Present will be: Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, along with Congressmember Charles Rangel, State Senator Bill Perkins, State Senator Adriano Espaillat, Assemblymember Daniel J. O'Donnell, and Councilmember Inez Dickens, and Community Boards 7 & 9. RSVP to 212-669-4451 or rsvp@manhattanbp.org.
We also urge parents to join us in attending PAL's open-forum discussion regarding community violence and alternatives to violence for youth on Friday July 29th. This will take place at PAL, Harlem Center, 119th Street and Manhattan Avenue, 6:30-9 pm.
As always, we appreciate your support of our programs and listserv. Thank you for making H4K such a vibrant and caring community.
Sincerely,
The Harlem4Kids Team
Satrina Boyce, Lisa Jones Brown, Remeise Chandler, Tiffany Dufu, Cynthia Eytina, Monique Garrett, Karen Green, Erika Thomas-Yuille, and Kenia Valentin.

I am very excited to report that there will be extra security in the park. Check out this article! http://www.dnainfo.com/20110714/harlem/morningside-park-could-get-more-police-following-shootings
Thanks to everyone who called their local representatives and pushed to make our parks safer! Please keep up the pressure to insure that this issue is not forgotten!!

There will be a radio call-in session on Harlem World discussing this issue with one of the Harlem4Kids board members Wednesday (July 20th) at noon.
Here is a link to the radio station.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/harlemworld

Reminder that there will be an open forum discussion regarding community violence and alternatives to violence for youth tonight (July 29th) on the corner of 119th and Manhattan Avenue. Organizations and service providers will gather at 6pm. The program starts at 6:30 and runs to 9pm.

This is an initiative started by Reverend Williams, of Positive Presence for Peace; however staff members from the Police Athletic League will be present and prepared to discuss additional opportunities for community engagement around the issue of teen violence. If you have any questions, please email Jamilah Clark at jclark@palnyc.org.

Here are some more opportunities to show that our community will not stand for this increase in violence and that we care enough to do something about it.

Precinct 26 is having a National Night out Against Crime rally at the Claremont Playground, directly in front of Grant's Tomb on Tuesday the 2nd from 6-9PM. It will be a family event.

The Community Board 9 will be holding a forum on Park Safety at the PAL on August 9th from 6-8PM

There was a good turn out for the forum. There were representatives from Harlem4Kids, PAL, the Family Courts system, Help Change, the police commissioner's office, Friends of Morningside Park, etc. Deputy Inspector Rodney Harrison from the 28th precinct and Rev. Georgiette Morgan Thomas Chair of Community Board 9 were also in attendance. There were reporters from Columbia University and dnainfo. Reverend Williams explained his efforts to reduce violence in the community, including Friday nights "Positive Presence for Peace", the Save Our Children Project, his texts to inform and involve the community in resolving conflicts around the neighborhood peacefully, and his direct intervention in resolving these conflicts. If you would like to be signed up for his texts, call 917-545-4613. Only do so if you have unlimited text and you are comfortable being texted at all hours. There were requests made of the commissioner's office for nypd cameras to be installed at 116th and Morningside Ave, Skywatch and looking into funding sources like HIDA for cameras and extra security. There was a lot of discussion about the lack of funding for teen activities over the last 4 years. PAL was recently able to get a grant to support teens, but needs help in getting teens to the center, staffing the computer lab, and attracting volunteers to work with teens. Harlem4Kids expressed interest in helping community agencies to connect with volunteers, organizing letter writing campaigns to seek grants and funding, and spreading the word about community meetings and activities to stop the violence. There was also discussion of bringing screenings of youth-produced, anti-violence videos from the Beyond Bullets organization to the community. Deputy Inspector Harrison updated us on two of the shootings and reported a spike in robberies (specifically iphones). Friends of Morningside Park talked about promoting activities for teens in the park. They are currently working on setting up a basketball tournament. There was more information presented regarding meetings and activities over the next coming weeks. I will continue to post updates on meetings and activities. Please consider getting involved and helping us to make our community safer!

There will be a basketball tournament this Saturday, August 13 from 1-4PM at Morningside Park. It will be located at the courts at 118th and Morningside Ave. The tournament is sponsored by Friends of Morningside Park in an effort to bring more positive activities for teens to the park and community. Please come out to support positive activities for the youth in our community.

There is a New York Times article about the shooting and community response.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/nyregion/shooting-in-morningside-park-tests-harlems-bond-with-past.html
Hopefully, the article will get more people involved in fighting against the gun violence.

Put security cameras around the park. With pictures and video evidence, the perpetrators will be caught and dealt with.