A district attorney — “DA” — is someone who is the chief prosecutor of a city or county, they are the top elected law enforcement official in each of NYC’s five boroughs. Their daily decisions, with limited accountability or oversight, have a devastating impact on vulnerable communities that are over-policed and under-resourced. As witnesses to the harm these officials cause, we advocate for divestment from the District Attorney and our reliance on prosecution and prisons, ensuring that funding is redirected to the communities harmed by prosecution and policing.
DAs are elected to four-year terms by voters in their county. There are no term limits for DAs in New York State. Upcoming DA general elections: the Bronx (2027), Brooklyn (2025), Manhattan (2025), Queens (2027), Staten Island (2027). The Special Narcotics Prosecutor who oversees the prosecution of felony narcotics cases across all five boroughs is appointed, not elected, by the city’s five District Attorneys.
DAs hold the power to significantly change the way our criminal legal system works. They have the power to decide whether or not to prosecute, which charges to file, whether to offer a plea or alternative to incarceration, and determine the length of sentence to recommend. DAs also recommend whether or not bail should be set, and in what amount. As one of the gatekeepers into the legal system, their decisions greatly impact who is incarcerated, for what, and for how long. While District Attorneys statutorily have the same power, how they choose to use that power can differ across offices based on the policies each DA sets. Each DA oversees an office made up of hundreds of Assistant DAs (“ADAs”) and hundreds—or thousands—of support staff.
DAs are a driving force of mass incarceration, funneling mostly Black, Brown, and poor people through a system that inflicts isolation and trauma, violates basic human rights, and fails to provide safety. In 2022, NYC’s five DAs collectively prosecuted over 150,500 people and incarcerated 7,719. They also sent 14,602 people to jail pre-trial (i.e. before conviction or acquittal), 89.1% of whom were Black or Latinx. That same year, DAs’ decisions led to the death of at least 19 people at Rikers.
After an arrest, the DA can decide to end a case before it makes it into the courtroom by declining to prosecute. The DA’s office has full discretion to decline to prosecute any case outright, or they may decline to prosecute once the accused person completes a pre-arraignment diversion program. The DA’s office also doesn’t have to make these decisions on a case-by-case basis. The DA has the power to institute expansive decline-to-prosecute policies, without exceptions, to reduce punishment and trauma for targeted communities and increase opportunities for public accountability. Examples of these policies include declining to prosecute marijuana-related offenses, police-initiated incidents including buy-and-busts or selling methadone to undercover cops, and school-based arrests.
DAs are members of the executive branch of government, yet DAs in New York City, in particular, still wield significant legislative influence both statewide and nationally. While several of New York City’s DAs claim the label of “progressive prosecutor,” they often advocate for regressive policies and legislation that would have an impact beyond their jurisdiction. In 2023, District Attorneys Bragg, Gonzalez, and Clark were found to be pushing quietly for rollbacks to the historic 2019 reforms relating to bail and discovery. In 2024, they continue to attack criminal legal reforms and push for expansion of the criminal legal system. DA Bragg, in particular, has pushed a proposal alongside lawmakers, which has since been adopted in the Governor’s FY25 Executive budget proposal, to add 31 new specified offenses to Penal Law § 485.05, dramatically expanding the threat of prosecution and lengthy prison sentences upon communities that already experience over-policing and are disproportionately the victims of incarceration.
DAs claim to represent the interests of the People of the State of New York, but their decisions have failed to deliver any safety, fairness, or justice for communities, especially Black and Brown communities with low income who are most vulnerable to prosecution. Since DAs are elected officials, one of their fundamental concerns is ensuring their re-election. And while this means efforts can be made to hold them accountable at the ballot box, it also means that DAs are concerned about what their constituents think of them. We have worked in the past to educate voters during election seasons, but we have also worked to exert pressure on DAs while they are in office by reminding them that the New Yorkers most harmed by their policies are also their constituents. We have held town halls, court watched, organized rallies, and more.
PCPA NYC
The People’s Coalition for Prosecutor Accountability NYC is a coalition of advocacy organizations, grassroots-led networks, and legal aid providers that have come together to hold NYC’s District Attorneys accountable.
