FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Brooklyn District Attorney to Host Begin Again Event
To Clear Summons Warrants
The Renewed Community Initiative Will Also Include Health and Resource Fair
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that his office will host a Begin Again event on Saturday, October 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bridge Street AME Church, 277 Stuyvesant Avenue, Brooklyn. This summons warrant adjudication initiative – aimed at helping residents address their open summons matters and clear the staggering backlog of warrants in the New York City summons court system – will be held in partnership with Congressmember Hakeem Jeffries’ Office, the New York State Office of Court Administration, and the Legal Aid Society.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “The number of low-level summonses issued by the NYPD has ballooned in recent years, leaving thousands of New Yorkers who failed to answer those tickets with open warrants that could lead to an arrest and other negative consequences. This is why we are restarting the successful Begin Again program that allows individuals to resolve these summons warrants in a safe environment inside a local church. I encourage anyone who may be eligible for relief or would like to take advantage of the adjacent health fair to come down to Bridge Street this Saturday to give themselves this life-changing opportunity.”
Rev. David B. Cousin, Sr. said, “Bridge Street is excited to assist in partnering with District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and his office in this initiative, which offers residents an opportunity to resolve outstanding summons warrants. This program aligns with Bridge Street’s history of being a social justice institution with a motto of being ‘The Church in the Heart of the Community with the Community at Heart.’”
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and its partners will provide on-site legal services to give New Yorkers a chance to clear their outstanding warrants. Individuals who appear for Begin Again will first consult with on-site free attorneys to make sure only eligible summons warrants are heard. All participants will then enter a temporary courtroom, where a judge will be on hand to address the outstanding summons and bench warrants that resulted from the failure to respond to summonses for a multitude of low-level infractions, including walking a dog without a leash, riding a bicycle on the sidewalk or being in a park after closing.
These summons warrants, when left unresolved, subject those who have them to automatic arrest when questioned by police on the street or during a traffic stop. They also carry a number of negative consequences, including impeding one’s ability to apply for citizenship, secure employment or obtain public housing. In today’s immigration enforcement environment of the federal government, an open warrant can be particularly risky to undocumented immigrants.
The use of criminal summonses by the NYPD has increased dramatically in recent years, from over 45,000 in 2021 to over 95,000 in 2024 and over 117,000 last year. Consequently, many thousands more people may have an arrest warrant they are not aware of or another unresolved matter relating to the summons. Begin Again provides an opportunity to resolve these issues for free, in a safe and supportive environment.
The Brooklyn DA’s Office launched this program in 2015, leading to the dismissal of thousands of warrants in Brooklyn. It was later adopted by other boroughs and, in 2017, the city automatically dismissed warrants that were 10 years or older. The program was paused in 2018, but the accumulation of hundreds of thousands of new warrants makes it urgently needed again.
Saturday’s event will additionally include a Health and Resource Fair, including FDNY CPR demonstrations, free mammogram sign-up, blood pressure reading, prostate cancer screening, job readiness resources and more.
The District Attorney thanked Congressman Jeffries, the Office of Court Administration, the Legal Aid Society and all the community partners for their participation and assistance in the event.
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