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.