Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Brooklyn DA: We're In An Open Warrant "Crisis"
By
Emma Whitford
Published Sep 8, 2015
Modified Sep 8, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Emma Whitford/Gothamist
By
Emma Whitford
Published Sep 8, 2015
Modified Sep 8, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
"There's a crisis we have in the city that nobody's really talking about, and that's the crisis of 1.2 million open warrants," said Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson during an AM radio appearance on Sunday. "If you're stopped and you have a warrant out, you're going to be put in handcuffs and brought to central booking, and I think that central booking should be reserved for folks who are committing gun violence or sexual assaults."
Of those 1.2 million open warrants, more than 260,000 are in Brooklyn. Most are for low-level or "quality-of-life" offenses, like drinking in public, spitting on the sidewalk, and public urination. All of these factor large in Commissioner Bratton's Broken Windows approach to policing, and have a tendency to land New Yorkers—more often than not, men of color—in jail for failure to pay a small fine or respond to a court summons.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito came out in favor of decriminalizing minor offenses this spring, and certain tabloids have since fear-mongered up the possibility of a urine-soaked city—arguing that Mayor de Blasio is tailspinning back to the Bad Old Days.
In an effort to chip away at the million-plus outstanding warrants, DA Thompson held his first Begin Again event this Father's Day, to adjudicate low-level offenses. More than a thousand New Yorkers lined up outside of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Clinton Hill, where a judge presided over a makeshift courtroom. According to the DA's office, 670 warrants were cleared over the course of the weekend.
Victor Serra of Brownsville brought five pink warrant slips to the event, with associated fines ranging from $25 to $100. "One of them was for tapping a hydrant," he said. "I was just drinking water, and they wrote me up for that. I didn't have any tools. It was just open." For another, "I'm fixing my belt, they wrote me up that I was urinating in the street."
Serra's neighbor Jerry Walker was on line with an open container ticket. "They [the NYPD] need a quota, so they go around harassing people that they recognize," he said.
The second Begin Again event is planned for this coming Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at St. Paul Community Baptist Church, located at 818 Schenck Avenue in East New York. Warrant holders from all five boroughs are invited to attend.
Tagged
arrest warrants
Bad old Days
ken thompson
public urination
quality of life
quality of life crimes
Emma Whitford
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Early Addition: Eric Adams did not convince a Wisconsin town to build a data center
Because the vote against it was unanimous, here are your early links: Jacket weather, swishing your Guinness, spooky decorations in North Jersey and more.
By
James Ramsay
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 8:28 a.m. ET
Hit-and-run driver arrested trying to flee to Uzbekistan after deadly crash, NYPD says
Police arrested 22-year-old Sobirjon Abdurazakov for a hit-and-run that killed a 62-year old Lyft driver.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
News
Hit-and-run driver arrested trying to flee to Uzbekistan after deadly crash, NYPD says
Police arrested 22-year-old Sobirjon Abdurazakov for a hit-and-run that killed a 62-year old Lyft driver.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
NY measles outbreak more widespread than official count, health officials say
By
Caroline Lewis
A NYC judge brought his gun into court for an ‘experiment’. Now he’s censured.
By
Samantha Max
The Bronx is getting a new casino and a reimagined Ferry Point Park, too
By
Willow Higgins
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .