In the 12 months through September 2009, New York City saw 473 of its residents murdered, according to New York Police Department statistics. That represents the lowest number of murders since 1962, when record keeping began, and a continued decline from a high of 2,245 in 1990.

But the gun violence is heavily skewed towards young, black men, peaking between the ages of 18 and 24. Victimization rates for blacks are more than six times greater than for whites and roughly one third of victims are under 25. Offending rates for blacks are higher too — seven times than that of whites, with half the perpetrators under 25.

All gun crimes in and around New York have dropped, FBI statistics show. In 2007, the most recent year for public FBI data, the New York primary metropolitan statistical area’s (including New York’s five boroughs and four suburban counties) robbery with a gun rate was 15.0 per 100,000 and assault with a gun was at 9.1 per 100,000. The numbers have plummeted sharply since 1992 when robbery with a gun was 436.2 per 100,000 and assault with a gun was at 185.52 per 100,000. Murder stood at 23.8 per 100,000.

Among the factors contributing to New York’s falling gun violence are tightening gun laws. New York has the sixth strictest gun laws in the US, according to the Brady Campaign for Gun Violence’s scorecard last year.

In recent years, New York enacted gun offender registration laws, tripled the mandatory minimum sentence for illegal gun possession and cracked down on out-of-state dealers. In July, Senators Charles Schumer of New York and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, both Democrats, led the fight to defeat the “Thune Amendment,” which would have allowed people with concealed-weapon permits to carry their concealed weapons out of state. The amendment was defeated by just two votes.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to make gun laws even tougher. On his agenda, if he wins reelection, are legislation to eliminate armor-piercing bullets, criminalize possession of a gun while drunk, and raise minimum sentences for selling handguns to minors.