Meringoff Family Foundation

The NYPD’s Options program hosted dozens of teens on Monday for a clash of the boroughs: an entire day of games, music and food.

Officials said the program is a way for police to engage with young New Yorkers and help them stay on the right path. The teens learn not only from officers, but also from their peers, some of whom work as program counselors.

With shootings on the rise, police officials said Options, and programs like it, are needed now more than ever.