VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Local leader combats gun violence in Syracuse
Anjana Dasam: If you look on the corner of Cannon and Newell street, there’s a seemingly empty lot. But to Clifford Ryan,
Ryan: “This is going to be a great area, I’m so proud of it”
Anjana: This area carries a deep history – filled with grief, remembrance, and resilience. And this tree, symbolizes it all.
Clifford: “This is a special place for me because my son was shot and killed right here in this very spot, right here.”
Anjana: Ryan says that this area is a hotbed for violence, and with this elementary school nearby, kids could be constantly at risk. Due to this, Ryan founded a non-profit organization called our generation where he takes matters into his own hands to keep everyone safe.
Clifford: Stop the violence.
Anjana: Along with organizing protests, Ryan says that he’s stopped almost 50 shootings in the area. The Syracuse police department is also involved in having more eyes on this issue by working with the state.
Kieran Coffey: “Money comes in from the governor’s office, so it’s our gun violence initiatives where we have officers on the street doing proactive details, in different areas of the city obviously.”
Anjana: Ryan’s latest efforts include building memorials on every side of the city, and the first one will be in dedication to his son.
Clifford: “I’m gonna put a plaque, probably right here, it’s gonna stick in the ground, like how this is right here, so it’s gonna stick in the ground and have his name on it.”
Anjana: Ryan hopes that in building this memorial, it can turn this area into a more positive place to help community members dealing with grief in the way it helped him.
Clifford: “I took that boulder of hurt pain and anger off my shoulders and I began to do a positive thing of the community to channel that grief .” Anjana: Over the years of hard work, Ryan can now be proud of the tree that stands in solidarity for his son. Reporting in Syracuse, I’m Anjana Dasam, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – On the corner of Cannon and W. Newell Streets, there’s a seemingly empty lot. But to Clifford Ryan, this area carries a deep history filled with grief, remembrance and resilience.
Ryan lost his 17-year-old son to in 1999, right by this lot. He subsequently founded a non-profit organization called OG’s Against Violence, which stands for Our Generation Against Violence. because of his son.
“He was shot in cold blood,” Ryan said. “We decided to memorialize this area in honor of that tragedy, as well as other tragic situations that have happened in this area.”
Ryan said that he uses a “boots on the ground approach,” to try to stop violence. To date, Ryan said he has stopped 44 shootings, over 300 stabbings and 1,082 fights.
“I wanted to make sure I gave a full effort to honor him,” Ryan said.
The Syracuse Police Department is also involved in having more eyes on this issue by working with the state.
“Money comes in from the governor’s office, so it’s our gun violence initiatives where we have officers on the street doing proactive details, in different areas of the city obviously,” Kieran Coffey, the public information specialist at the SPD said.
Coffey says that they have been able to recover almost 240 illegal guns in the area this year. He and the department hope to continue to crack down on this issue to keep the streets of Syracuse safer.
Ryan’s latest efforts include building memorials on every side of the city to honor those that lost lives due to this violence. The first one will be in dedication to his son.
He hopes that in building this memorial, it can turn this area into a more positive place to help community members dealing with grief.
“I took that boulder of hurt, pain and anger off my shoulders and I began to do a positive thing of the community to channel that grief,” Ryan said.