![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790755349_367_press-release-banner-eric-gonzalez-1.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/p>\n
Tuesday, September 29, 2026<\/p>\n
Brooklyn District Attorney to Host Begin Again Event
To Clear Summons Warrants<\/p>\n
The Renewed Community Initiative Will Also Include Health and Resource Fair<\/p>\n
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 \u2013 aimed at helping residents address their open summons matters and clear the staggering backlog of warrants in the New York City summons court system \u2013 will be held in partnership with Congressmember Hakeem Jeffries\u2019 Office, the New York State Office of Court Administration, and the Legal Aid Society.<\/p>\n
District Attorney Gonzalez said, \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rev. David B. Cousin, Sr. said, \u201cBridge 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\u2019s history of being a social justice institution with a motto of being \u2018The Church in the Heart of the Community with the Community at Heart.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
For far too long, unresolved summonses for minor, low-level offenses have resulted in unnecessary interaction with the criminal justice system. Now, thanks to this weekend\u2019s Begin Again event, New Yorkers will have the opportunity to clear up open warrants and prevent a minor infraction like littering from leading to an arrest or other serious consequences,\u201d said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08). \u201cI am grateful to Bridge Street AME Church for hosting this life-changing event and to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez for his leadership in making our communities safer and ensuring people with outstanding summonses can resolve their warrants quickly and easily.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Brooklyn District Attorney\u2019s 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\u00a0will 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s ability to apply for citizenship, secure employment or obtain public housing. In today\u2019s immigration enforcement environment of the federal government, an open warrant can be particularly risky to undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Brooklyn DA\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
#<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.brooklynda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Begin-Again-2026-Flyer-v4-2-Mythili-images-0-scaled.jpg\")