Tag: alvin bragg

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Manhattan DA-Elect Alvin Bragg Announces Transition Team

Following the historic election of Alvin Bragg as the first African American District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office on Nov. 2, his campaign announced the formation of DA-Elect Bragg’s transition team. Here is an excerpt:

Manhattan District Attorney-elect Alvin Bragg today announced the formation of a transition committee comprised of legal experts, service providers, faith based and community leaders, law enforcement, and those directly impacted by the office, that will help reimagine the office to deliver safety and justice for all.

“I am grateful to this group of talented and committed leaders who are volunteering their time and wisdom to ensure we are ready on Day 1 to transform the office to make it the progressive leader it should be,” said Alvin Bragg, a civil rights lawyer and former Chief Deputy Attorney General of New York. “The Transition Committee will be focused on doing the work necessary to identify the plans and people to implement my agenda to address both the need for fundamental reforms in the criminal legal system and the need for community safety. The two goals of justice and safety are not opposed to each other.  They are inextricably linked.  We deserve and demand both, and that has been the focus of my career, my life, and will be the focus of this office.”

“Together, we will make this office a leader on reform. One that ends racial disparities and mass incarcerations; makes us safer by getting justice for survivors of sexual assault and stopping the flow of guns onto our streets; one that invests in reentry programs and expands treatment for mental health and substance abuse; one that addresses the humanitarian crisis at Rikers; and one that holds police accountable, frees the wrongly convicted and delivers justice for all.”

The Transition Committee will be co-chaired by Lauren-Brooke Eisen, Director of the Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Leroy Frazer, former Chief of Staff and Executive ADA, in Brooklyn and Manhattan District Attorney Offices respectively, and Insha Rahman, Vice President of Advocacy & Partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice.

For the full announcement, go to https://www.alvinbragg.com/transition-announcement

The Transition Committee includes several members who are associated with AABANY, including Board Director Chris Kwok, former AABANY Development Director Kevin Kim, and AABANY members Asim Rehman and Chanterelle Sung. For the full list of Transition Committee members, see https://www.alvinbragg.com/transition-committee

Congratulations to DA-Elect Bragg and to all the members of the Transition Committee.

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In the News: Law360 Covers AABANY’s Manhattan DA Candidates’ Forum

AABANY’s Manhattan DA Candidates’ Forum held on June 15 and 16 was recently covered in a June 21 Law360 article titled “Manhattan DA Candidates Split Over Hate Crime Strategy.” In the run up to the primary election on June 22, AABANY posed questions to seven Democratic candidates (Tahanie Aboushi, Alvin Bragg, Liz Crotty, Tali Farhadian Weinstein, Diana Florence, Lucy Lang, and Eliza Orlins) and one Republican candidate (Thomas Kenniff) on issues important to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, specifically related to how they would address the surge in anti-Asian violence in New York City. Most of the candidates stated that they would use enhancements to charge perpetrators of hate crimes. In addition, most of the candidates supported creating a hate crimes unit in the DA’s Office, which is one of the proposals offered in AABANY and Paul, Weiss’ report on anti-Asian violence. Only Tahanie Aboushi and Eliza Orlins pledged they would cut the district attorney’s office budget in half. By decreasing the prosecution of low-level offenses, Aboushi and Orlins said the office would be able to focus on more serious crimes, including hate crimes that involve violence. The Law360 article also incorporated Democratic DA Candidate Dan Quart’s stances on the questions posed at the Forum as he was not able to participate due to a prior engagement.

To read the full article, click here. To view the recordings of AABANY’s Manhattan DA Candidates’ Forum, click here for day 1 (Lucy Lang, Alvin Bragg, Tali Farhadian Weinstein, and Tahanie Aboushi) and here for day 2 (Diana Florence, Thomas Kenniff, Eliza Orlins, and Liz Crotty).

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AABANY Hosts Manhattan District Attorney Candidates’ Forum on June 15 and 16

On Tuesday, June 15th, and Wednesday, June 16th, AABANY hosted a forum with 8 Manhattan District Attorney candidates. The candidates were individually questioned on legal issues facing the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community by a panel of members from AABANY’s Anti-Asian Violence Task Force. These included questions about whether the candidates would increase AAPI representation in top leadership positions in the Manhattan DA’s Office, their thoughts on the Manhattan DA’s prosecution of Abacus Bank in 2015, and how they would charge defendants of anti-Asian hate crimes. When time permitted, candidates were also asked questions from audience members.

Day 1 featured Lucy Lang, Alvin Bragg, Tali Farhadian Weinstein, and Tahanie Aboushi.

To view the full forum of day 1, click here.

Day 2 featured Diana Florence, Thomas Kenniff, Eliza Orlins, and Liz Crotty.

To view the full forum of day 2, click here.

AABANY thanks all the candidates for participating in the Forum. We encourage everyone to get out and vote in the Democratic Primary on June 22. We hope that this Forum will help inform the public about the Manhattan DA candidates’ views on issues facing the AAPI community.