Councilman Yousef Salaam – one of the acquitted Central Park Five – calls for changing public safety laws after 7-year-old girl shot in NYC

Prominent Councilman Yousef Salaam — one of the acquitted Central Park Five — called for public safety laws to be changed following Monday’s shocking shooting in Harlem. A 7 year old girl was injured,

The “senseless,” possibly gang-related shooting — which unfolded in Salaam’s district — is the latest act of gun violence to touch Harlem youth, he said in a statement to The Post on Tuesday.

“Our office is working diligently with the NYPD and various community organizations who are committed to making changes to the laws that will better protect our community and hold criminals accountable,” he said.

“We believe immediate action is critical, and we are reaching out to other elected officials, including the Mayor’s Office, to enact policies that address the influx of violence and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable for their actions. Be held fully accountable.”

Salam, a Democrat who Chairman of the Public Safety Committee of the City CouncilIt did not specify which laws should be changed, and his office did not immediately return a request for clarification.

But Salaam’s call was notable because of his history as one of five Black and Latino youth found guilty in the trial The infamous 1989 Central Park rape jogger caseThat led to him spending time in prison, before his sentence was quashed after a career criminal confessed to the attack.

Salaam said after his insurgent primary victory last year that he wanted to work with the NYPD to make the streets of Harlem safer.

“Most people would think I would be supportive of (police) defunding, but the truth of the matter is that we need the police,” said Salam, 50. told The Post after his landslide victory On the Harlem Democratic Establishment.

Salaam – who blasted rival candidate Al Taylor and state Assemblywoman Inez Dickens, as well as powerful people who supported him in that primary for the 9th Council District – insisted at the time that he was seeking “over-enforcement” rather than “over-enforcement.” Wanted “smart” policing.

He has faced some setbacks since assuming office “How Many Stops” to Support the Act criticized by the NYPD, and at a controversial traffic stop It turned out he was driving around town with out-of-state license plates and allegedly illegally tinted windows.

The shooting occurred in broad daylight on Monday as 7-year-old Fatou Keita, her 14-year-old sister and father ate pizza while running errands, the young girl’s mother told The Post.

Two teenage boys – a 17-year-old and Daniel Idowu, 19 – have been charged with attempted murder after sources said they fired nine shots at an 18-year-old boy.

Family members told The Post that Keita was hit by a bullet in the stomach and is recovering after successful surgery at Harlem Hospital.

Sources said the alleged shooters are believed to be gang associates, although investigators are not yet sure which gang, while their intended target is a suspected member of the notorious Mack Baller gang.

Salaam’s call for action against violence was echoed by Keita’s mother, Fatoumata Keita, 51, who said Mayor Eric Adams needs to advance laws addressing guns.

“We can’t do anything,” she said.

-Additional reporting by Joe Marino