The City of Newburgh unanimously voted on Monday, March 22 to enter an agreement with Ruff Ryders to the Rescue, a violence interrupter organization that would potentially curb violence and crime in the city.

Ruff Ryders to the Rescue approached Harvey over a year ago to discuss how they could provide a community approach to the issue at hand. During the Monday, January 11 council meeting, Ruff Ryders to the Rescue presented to the council what they could provide for Newburgh.

The Mount Vernon based group is proposing a 24-hour community watch program in Newburgh. It’s mission is three-fold: “to support urban community programs that provide innovative, measurable programs that can be replicated in urban communities, to be a visible, reliable presence in the community, and to develop leaders who will have an indelible, positive impact on society.”

Joaquin Dean, CEO of Ruff Ryders to the Rescue, told the council that the program would train interrupters who would go into the community where “most won’t dare,” collaborate with other street outreach programs and be credible messengers for the community.

“We want to bridge the gap between the streets, the industry and the politics,” said Dean. “All three elements that we feel are really effective in the community.”

The agreement has been in the works behind the scenes for weeks now. For some council members, the biggest deciding factor was the price attached to it. The settled upon agreement would allow for a three-month period in which issues like cost and funding would be addressed, so that the city “doesn’t bite off more than it can chew.” The three-month period would bring the city to its next budget cycle.

“The way the agreement is structured, once it’s signed, there is a three month period in which those issues have to be addressed by the parties,” said corporation counsel Michelle Kelson. “There has to be an operating budget, how many employees there will be, and what the source of the funding is.”

She said grants and other fundraising methods can be used to offset costs for the initial year of the program.

However, Councilman Omari Shakur had another concern regarding how they are going to introduce themselves to the City of Newburgh on the streets.

“My problem with it is no one has sat down with Ruff Ryders to see how they are going to initiate this program,” said Shakur. “Being an outside organization, they’re coming into the city and if you don’t have the right people introducing you to the streets, the program isn’t going to work. Who are they hiring to initiate this program?”

The program is similar to SNUG, which is an organization that takes volunteers and workers into communities to prevent shooting and violence within a community. The SNUG program is supported by Regional Economic Community Action Program (RECAP) who “develops and implements risk-reduction strategies to reduce gun involvement with the goal of saving lives and helping individuals turn their lives around.” Despite the similarities, Mayor Torrance Harvey wasn’t ever opposed to having two programs that could compliment each other and fight crime in the City.

“You do have violent interrupts that exist in our society and they are doing a great job,” said Harvey. “One of the unique things about the Ruff Ryders is they have an established brand that ties to the music, film and television industry. Those are things our young people are really excited about. They have contacts in that camp that could provide workforce development for our kids that want to be in the music industry that want to not only rap and sing, but be behind the scenes in producing music and content and digital downloads.”

Harvey imagines Ruff Ryders to the Rescue, which began from Ruff Ryders Entertainment, as being a potential gateway for Newburgh’s youth to learn more about the music and arts industry. Ruff Ryders Entertainment was built in 1988 in Yonkers, launching the careers of numerous well-known artists like DMX and Swizz Beats.

“Our urban cities across the country are facing serious issues due to the lack of educational efforts and very little support for our youth to become entrepreneurs and leaders,” said Dean in a statement about the creation of Ruff Ryders to the Rescue. “Many of these urban areas have been discarded as being not salvageable and the challenges in recent times are compacted with racism, income disparity and the COVID-19 pandemic.”

He wrote that the goal is to “engage the youth of these streets, teaching them better ways of communicating with one another and creating a positive dialog with everyone involved in the community.”

“I’ve been working with [Ruff Ryders] for at least a year,” said Harvey, who introduced Ruff Ryders to different community members and areas of the city over time. “I’m excited about the possibility. When new things are introduced to the city, sometimes there is a cast of doubt because of a lack of funds. The cost is the cost of human life if you ask me.”

Throughout 2021, Ruff Ryders to the Rescue plans to also work with cities like Rochester and Mount Vernon and Yonkers.