4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 9, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Melinda Katz outlines priorities in her DA inauguration
BY MAX PARROTT
mparrott@schnepsmedia.com
Th e inauguration of Melinda Katz, the
fi rst female district attorney of Queens,
gathered city and state offi cials, religious
Queens lawmaker marches against anti-Semitism
amid recent attacks on the Jewish community
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Congresswoman Grace Meng joined
over 25,000 participants this past weekend
in the “No Hate, No Fear” Solidarity
March in New York City standing with
the Jewish community against anti-Semitism
and hate.
Th e event began in lower Manhattan
with participants marching over the
Brooklyn Bridge to Cadman Plaza in
Brooklyn.
“Today and every day, I stand in solidarity
with the Jewish community in combating
the scourge of anti-Semitism and
hate,” Meng said. “Th e spate of anti-Semitic
hate crimes that our Jewish communities
have faced and endured over the last
year has threatened the foundation of our
city, which thrives on religious freedom.”
“We must all stand up and be united
in denouncing this unacceptable spike in
anti-Semitic attacks, and make clear that
these cowardly acts will never, ever be tolerated.
But we need more than words and
condemnations,” she added.
Meng is calling for more action and
resources, using every tool at disposal to
eradicate all forms of intolerance and bigotry.
One of the major resources to help
houses of worships (synagogues, churches,
mosques, temples) and nonprofi t entities
improve security and guard against
threats and attacks, Meng said, is the
Department of Homeland Security’s
Nonprofi t Security Grant Program.
As a member of the House
Appropriations Committee — the panel
responsible for funding every federal
agency, program and project within the
U.S. government including the Nonprofi t
Security Grant Program — Meng has
helped to increase funding and awareness
for these grants over the past several
years, including last month when she
played a critical role in boosting the annual
amount to $90 million.
“Nonprofi t Security Grants are vital,”
Meng said. “Th e program’s importance
cannot be overstated and as Congressional
appropriator, I will do everything I possibly
can to secure even more funding for
next year. Money from these grants can be
used for target-hardening and other physical
security enhancements such as barriers,
gates, safety gear and surveillance
equipment.”
Over the past two-and-a-half years,
Meng has obtained and announced grants
for houses of worship in her congressional
district in Queens, including synagogues
as well as yeshivas, Jewish community
centers and other schools, who
are using the money to better protect their
congregations, students and organization
members.
She is urging all houses of worship
throughout the region and across the
country to apply for those grants as well,
and to take advantage of the critical funding
that they off er.
“Additionally, I will be working to
arrange additional Nonprofi t Security
Grant workshops in my district, so that
even more houses of worship and highrisk
nonprofi t institutions can learn about
the program, and successfully apply for
funding,” Meng added.
Meng is presently draft ing legislation
that seeks to improve coordination
between local and federal law enforcement
in targeting and reporting hate crimes, to
make sure that acts of anti-Semitism are
being handled appropriately at the federal
level.
Photo courtesy of Grace Meng’s offi ce
Congresswoman Grace Meng attends the
“No Hate. No Fear.” Solidarity March in lower
Manhattan with participants marching over the
Brooklyn Bridge to Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn.
fi gures and a crowd of hundreds at
her alma mater, St. John’s University on
Monday.
Katz joined a constellation of offi cials
including Rep. Greg Meeks, Lt. Gov. Kathy
Hochul, Attorney General Tish James and
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who gave remarks
heralding Katz’s stewardship as a pivotal
moment for criminal justice reform.
“I was elected, I like to think, because
of the trust that I will bring a steady hand
in these times of uncertainty — a steady
hand, a common-sense hand,” Katz said
in her inauguration speech.
Th e electeds praised Katz on her creation
of the borough’s fi rst conviction integrity
unit, and her promise to challenge ICE’s
presence at courthouses and crack down
on hate crimes. Several also commented
on how they thought her history of public
service as borough president, a City
Council member and an Assembly member
prepared her for the offi ce.
“Melinda Katz will still be Melinda Katz
no matter what the title is, no matter
where she goes. No matter the situation,”
said Meeks, who campaigned with Katz
in his capacity as chair of the Queens
County Democratic Party.
Th ough Katz’s political supporters fi lled
the bleachers, outside Carnesecca Arena
the signs of her turbulent primary battle
with Tiff any Cabán persisted. Around
a dozen activists from Court Watch NYC
and Our Progressive Future showed up
to protest Katz’s failure to follow through
with her promise to end cash bail completely
on her fi rst day in offi ce.
Sharon Lee, who will act as borough
president until the offi ce is fi lled, introduced
Katz’s nine-member executive team
led by Chief Assistant Jennifer L. Naiburg,
a 26-year-veteran of the Queens DA’s
offi ce. Four of the incoming members of
team are holdovers from former Queens
DA Richard Brown’s offi ce, but the team
also includes some notable fresh faces like
Bryce Benjet, the director of the newly
created district attorney’s Conviction
Integrity Unit.
Benjet, a senior staff attorney with the
Innocence Project for the past seven
years, has spent most of his career fi ghting
against wrongful convictions. Th at
Conviction Integrity Unit will examine
cases to make recommendations for exoneration
if someone is found to be wrongfully
convicted.
It’s one of four progressive policy changes
that Katz put into eff ect on day one
of her tenure.Others include the abandonment
of the 180.80 waiver policy —
a reform that allows defendants to enter
a plea bargain fi ve days aft er an indictment
without waiving their right to a
grand jury.
Katz also eliminated “top count only”
plea policy aft er indictment. Th e goal of
this policy stops defendants from making
a choice between going to trial or taking
a plea deal based on the top count of
their indictment.
She has renamed the Special
Prosecutions unit to the Community
Partnerships Division to signal its goal of
working “with the community to foster
communication.”
Katz ended by addressing cash bail. She
admitted that though her offi ce did not
do away completely with the practice on
the fi rst day, she was “committed to ending
cash bail in all forms. Period.” She
said that this was something that was not
achievable without the infrastructure on
supervised release yet in place.
“Th ere’s a lot of naysayers and critics.
Th ere are those who say we’re not going
far enough, there are those who are going
too far,” said Katz in closing. “I look forward
to that challenge with the trust to do
the right thing even though we know we
can’t achieve it all in that single day.”
Courtesy of the Queens DA’s offi ce
Melinda Katz addresses the crowd after being sworn into the offi ce of Queens District Attorney.
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