"I saw an attitude of people losing interest," Mayor Flynn said.

Mayor Flynn said the poor who have homes are paying increasingly large portions of their incomes for housing.

Mayor Flynn said the sources of the violence are too much for the city's 2,300 police officers to handle alone.

"The whole idea is simply to maximize the level of accountability," Mayor Flynn said.

Mayor Flynn also noted that city residents will be able to call for a return to an elected committee in a 1996 referendum.

Mayor Flynn opposed the plan last year, saying it would reverse recent gains made by blacks.

Mayor Flynn has said the city will provide whatever level of resources are necessary for protection of families moving into the projects.

Mayor Flynn has also called for a shorter contract.

Mayor Flynn, who rushed to the hospital the night of the shootings, said he would have responded the same way to any shooting.

Mayor Flynn did not appear to have much support when he first proposed the needle exchange.