How they handle crises in Brownsville, often without police

At least twice a year, nonprofit workers from the neighborhood spend a week calming disputes and responding to most 311 and 911 calls on certain blocks in the neighborhood.

This year's April installment took on a special significance, because organizers' approach is similar to what Mayor Zohran Mamdani has vowed do across the city: have trained professionals respond to a range of 311 and 911 calls, and limit police intervention to the most serious cases.