Step 1.
During my first street vending training day in the summer of 1986 in the city after arriving in new York from The Gambia, West Africa, my Senegalese trainer was knocked to the ground unconscious by a robber on a bright midday at the crowded South West corner of Broadway and Canal Street and to my shocking surprise, nobody said or did anything to help. But in very shot days living in Harlem I quickly found out it was then a normal part of living and trolling in the Big Apple.
Step 2.
I became a cabdriver in Harlem and the Bronx after my street vending boot camp in which I had experienced four occasions where guns placed on my face, neck and back, one facial knife slicing, several knockout punches to my slander body and two gun shots. All these violent crimes except the gun shots took place in my cabs during night shifts. Thank God for surviving them all with more resolved.
Step 3.
I became a real estate agent post my cab driving career. This was really my first real introduction to the cost of crime and violence or better yet violent crimes. As a real estate professional, I realized instantly the fact that homeowners in neighborhoods with high violent crimes do not enjoy fast property value appreciations, good tenancy, while at same time faced the higher rate of foreclosures with fewer buyers for their properties when selling, contrary to their counterparts in safer neighborhoods.
Step 4.
I became an Insurance agent with life, property & casualty licenses post my real estate career. Here again I truly experienced the dichotomy of poverty and violent crimes. Residents in neighborhoods with high violent crimes are paying more per unit for auto, mortgage, life, business, and all other insurable interests with fewer options and benefits. They pay more and get less.
Step 5.
I became an investment banker on Wall Street post my insurance career. Through this investment banking profession on Wall Street, I was nakedly exposed to the real costs of violent crimes locally, nationally and internationally. This is where my attitude towards public safety was formed. As a person who always used painful and challenging experiences for personal development, I used my broad understanding of this relation between violence and poverty to seek a sustained solution. I learned that to achieve real and sustainable development in any neighborhoods of any city, public safety concerns must first be addressed. This certainty about the relationship between violence and poverty confirmed all my decisions, commitment and stubbornness towards public safety issues. Thank you for reading this summery. Now you know! Please share yours! www.peacepatrol.org #cppo #peacedecember #publicsafetydames #iammycommunity #thepeacecounty
