While Safe Streets Brooklyn celebrated more than 365 days without a homicide in the zone, there are lingering questions about transparency surrounding what the violence interrupters do while on the clock and how the city is preparing to continue some of the violence interruption work when federal dollars dry up.

A celebration was held Tuesday at Brooklyn Homes to mark the occasion, just feet from where the worst mass shooting in Baltimore’s history unfolded; a barrage of bullets started flying during the Brooklyn Day block party in July 2023, resulting in 28 people injured and two people dead.

“The message to those families and to the community, we honored our word that we were going to make this community a safer place,” Mayor Scott said

In the days and weeks that followed the shooting, investigations unfolded, and the Baltimore City Council held hearings to learn what happened. There were Safe Streets workers from the Brooklyn location at the block party before the gunfire erupted, and it was revealed those violence interrupters completed several mediations during the day. However, it’s unclear what those mediations entailed, and when asked by members of the City Council, leaders from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) maintained the details were confidential.

“The same way we don’t ask undercover police officers to give out their information, we will not do the same with our violence interrupters,” Mayor Scott said when asked if the public will ever learn the details of the mediations completed. “Just because some sections of the media decided they wanted to make Safe Streets their focus and sometimes make Safe Streets out to be the boogeyman, we are not going to compromise the [workers’] lives. We know the work that they do, and we know that their work is inherently dangerous.”

Mayor Scott often points to maintaining the workers’ anonymity, citing safety concerns. He also often draws the comparison to police officers, but police officers’ names are largely public record, and the public doesn’t know the names of Safe Streets workers.

During the event Tuesday, there were several violence interrupters standing at the podium, appearing on camera. There have also been community events where members of the Safe Streets program appear on camera during news stories, not hiding their identities.

The Brooklyn Safe Streets zone is one of 10 different Safe Streets locations around the city; Catholic Charities and LifeBridge Health operate the day-to-day of the locations, but funding and support comes from MONSE. When Baltimore received $641 million of American Rescue Plan funding, Mayor Scott allocated millions to MONSE to expand staff and programs. However, that federal money was a one-time infusion of cash, not long-term funding support.

“This work will not go away as long as I’m here, and we are going to make sure that we do the necessary work to make sure that it continues,” Mayor Scott said.

It’s not clear exactly how Mayor Scott intends on funding the programs that have grown thanks to the federal infusion of cash.

While Mayor Scott, MONSE Director Stefanie Mavronis, and Catholic Charities touted the fact that there haven’t been any homicides within the zones, there have been non-fatal shootings within the boundary, and homicides within the lines.

Have a news tip? Contact Mikenzie Frost at mbfrost@sbgtv.com.