{"id":307143,"date":"2026-07-27T23:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T23:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/307143\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T23:17:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T23:17:11","slug":"district-attorney-eric-gonzalez-reveals-the-steps-on-his-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/307143\/","title":{"rendered":"District Attorney Eric Gonzalez reveals the steps on his path"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gonzalez, who leads one of the nation\u2019s largest prosecutors\u2019 offices, is a lifelong Brooklyn resident. <\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in Williamsburg and East New York in a traditional Puerto Rican family,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cEast New York, in particular, was rough in the \u201980s and \u201990s with the rise of the crack cocaine epidemic. At the time I was living there, it was considered to be the homicide capital of this great city we lived in, but I always imagined a better life for myself. I wanted to help people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gonzalez\u2019s family worked as farmers in Puerto Rico.\u00a0As a boy, he told his grandmother he was considering becoming a lawyer, to which she responded, \u201cOh, we don\u2019t do that.\u201d <\/p>\n

He was the first in his family to graduate from high school and college. Neither of his parents graduated high school.<\/p>\n

\"Brooklyn<\/a>Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Photo: Mario Belluomo\/Brooklyn EagleEarly inspiration\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Gonzalez, one of the turning points in his life was when he read \u201cThe Bonfire of the Vanities\u201d as a teenager. The satirical novel, set in 1980s New York City, explores greed, ambition, social class, racial tensions and the criminal justice system. A central part of the story revolves around the Bronx District Attorney\u2019s Office and how a criminal case becomes entangled with politics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat book is really responsible for making me a prosecutor,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cI discovered that there is a person called the district attorney who gets to decide who gets second chances and who goes to prison. I said, \u2018Wow, that\u2019s an incredible power. Let me learn about that.\u2019 So I took classes focusing on the justice system, government, politics, and ultimately, I went to law school.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gonzalez began his legal career in the Brooklyn District Attorney\u2019s Office in 1995, after earning a bachelor\u2019s degree from Cornell University and a juris doctor from the University of Michigan Law School.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always imagined myself entering this field to pursue justice,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cI wanted to help keep communities safe while ensuring that everyone is treated with fundamental fairness. My belief is that people are not inherently bad. Mostly, it\u2019s about a lack of opportunity and resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gonzalez said his administration is trying to reduce both crime and incarceration. \u201cWe sent less people to jail than ever before,\u201d he said. \u201cWe give more people opportunities for alternatives to incarceration, such as various types of rehabilitation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The homicide rate has dropped 38% and shootings 40% since Gonzalez took office almost 10 years ago. In 2025, Brooklyn saw the lowest levels of violent crime. \u201cThat momentum is continuing this year,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Hon.<\/a>Hon. Patrick Hayes Torres. Photo: Mario Belluomo\/Brooklyn Eagle<\/p>\n

As district attorney, Gonzalez recently helped launch Project Restore, a pilot community intervention initiative aimed at reducing gang-related violence in various Brooklyn neighborhoods. The 12\u2011month program targets men aged 18 to 30 and focuses on holistic support including mentorship, skills building and community engagement.<\/p>\n

Gonzalez named former District Attorney Kenneth Thompson as one of his mentors. Thompson was the first African American district attorney of Kings County, serving from January 2014 until his death from cancer in 2016.<\/p>\n

Gonzalez was chief assistant district attorney under Thompson, helping him launch the office\u2019s nationally recognized Conviction Review Unit. Gonzalez succeeded Thompson after he passed away.<\/p>\n

In the closing moments of the event, Gonzalez was asked which qualities he believes are essential for young attorneys pursuing careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI only ask a few things of young law students,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cFirstly, they must be committed to serve. Secondly, I tell them that no case is more important than their own ethics and values, and their reputation is the most important attribute that they bring to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gonzalez, who leads one of the nation\u2019s largest prosecutors\u2019 offices, is a lifelong Brooklyn resident. \u201cI grew up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,5531,5532,100,99,3308,5533,9,24,63,20090],"class_list":["post-307143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-district-attorney","tag-brooklyn-district-attorneys-office","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-daily-bulletin","tag-eric-gonzalez","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-profiles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}