Councilman Yusef Salaam — one of exonerated Central Park Five — calls for changing public safety laws after 7-year-old girl shot in NYC
Prominent Councilman Yusef Salaam — one of the exonerated Central Park Five — called to change public safety laws in the aftermath of a shocking Harlem shooting Monday that left a 7-year-old girl wounded.
The “senseless,” potentially gang-related shooting — which unfolded in Salaam’s district — is only the latest act of gun violence to touch Harlem youths, he said in a statement to The Post Tuesday.
“Our office is working diligently with the NYPD and various community organizations that are committed to pursuing changes to laws that will better protect our community and hold offenders accountable,” he said.
“We recognize that immediate action is crucial, and we are reaching out to other elected officials including the Mayor’s Office, to implement policies that address the influx of violence and ensure that perpetrators are held fully responsible for their actions.”
Salaam, a Democrat who chairs the City Council’s public safety committee, didn’t specify what laws should be changed, and his office didn’t immediately return a request for clarification.
But Salaam’s call was noteworthy given his history as one of five black and Latino youths found guilty at trial in the notorious 1989 Central Park rape jogger case, which led them to serve time in prison before their convictions were tossed after a career criminal confessed to the attack.
Salaam said after his insurgent primary victory last year that he wanted to work with the NYPD to make the streets of Harlem safer.
“Most people would think that I would be pro-defund [the police], but the truth of the matter is we need police,” Salaam, 50, told The Post after his stunning win over the Harlem Democratic establishment.
Salaam — who blew away rival candidate Al Taylor and state Assemblywoman Inez Dickens, as well as the powerhouses who backed her in that primary for the 9th Council district — emphasized at the time he wanted “smarter” policing instead of “over-enforcement.”
Since taking office, he has faced some blowback for championing the “How Many Stops” act criticized by the NYPD, and over a controversial traffic stop that revealed he was driving around the city with out-of-state license plates and allegedly illegally tinted windows.
The shooting Monday unfolded in broad daylight as Fatou Keita, 7, her 14-year-old sister and father had just finished eating pizza while running errands, the young girl’s mother told The Post.
Two teen boys — a 17-year-old and Daniel Idowu, 19 — face attempted murder charges after sources said they fired off nine shots at an 18-year-old.
Keita was struck in the abdomen by a stray bullet, and is recuperating after a successful surgery in Harlem Hospital, family members told The Post.
The alleged shooters are believed to be gang associates, although investigators aren’t yet sure of which crew, while their intended target is a suspected member of the notorious Mac Baller gang, sources said.
Salaam’s call for action against violence was echoed by Keita’s mother Fatoumata Keita, 51, who said Mayor Eric Adams needed to pursue laws addressing guns.
“We can’t do nothing,” she said.
— Additional reporting by Joe Marino
