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As we usher in
2008, I want to wish all of you a happy, healthy and safe New Year.
One
year has passed since this column was first published. During this
time, I have had the opportunity to answer a multitude of questions
posed by you, my readers, as well as to inform you about the many
diverse programs and services offered by my office.
Among the most important of
these is the establishment of several District Attorney
“neighborhood offices,” which are located throughout Brooklyn and
provide residents with access to my office and its services, without
their having to travel to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s central
office in downtown Brooklyn.
Each neighborhood office is
open one day a week and is staffed by personnel who provide
assistance to visitors on a variety of issues. These include elder
abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse, drug or gang activity,
prostitution, burglary or robbery, gangs, identity theft, fraudulent
loans and other frauds, and even Medicare, Section 8, and
landlord-tenant disputes.
Thanks to the generosity of
community organizations that have lent us their space, there are now
20 neighborhood offices located in Bay Ridge, Bedford-Stuyvesant,
Bensonhurst, Borough Park, Brooklyn Heights, Brownsville, Bushwick,
Canarsie, Coney Island, Cypress Hills, Dyker Heights, Flatbush,
Greenpoint, Midwood, Park Slope/Gowanus, Sheepshead Bay, Sunset
Park, and Williamsburg. An additional office will open soon in East
New York.
To expand our outreach, we
recently added a mobile van. So be on the lookout for our “mobile
office,” which should be coming soon to a neighborhood near you.
The
Brooklyn District Attorney’s neighborhood offices are an important
tool in our efforts to fight and prevent crime. By being out in the
community, we have learned much more about such pervasive problems
as predatory lending and abuse against the elderly. Armed with this
information, we have been able to educate the public on how to avoid
being victimized by predatory lending and other financial frauds,
especially those affecting seniors.
To find
the location and hours of the neighborhood office nearest you,
please call our hotline at 718-250-2555, or visit my office’s
website at
www.brooklynda.org. To have your questions answered in a
future column, send them to
asktheda@brooklynda.org. |
