East Elmhurst, NY — State Senators Jose Peralta and Tony Avella announced a $150,000 state allocation for the Queens District Attorney’s Office, which will be used to support critical initiatives to assist crime victims with special needs, specifically child victims of sexual or physical abuse, immigrant victims of crime, and elderly victims who fall prey to financial exploitation.
The funding will support the services of one assistant district attorney assigned to the Queens District Attorney’s Elder Fraud Unit. This unit focuses on enhancing efforts to combat the serious growing problem of financial exploitation in the borough. According to the Queens District Attorney’s Office, there has been a pattern of criminal activity targeting the elderly, crimes that include telemarketing and consumer scams, identity theft, credit card and mortgage frauds, among others.
Additionally, part of the state allocation will also support staff assigned to the Queens District Attorney’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (OIA), which assists members of Queens’ immigrant communities in navigating and accessing services within the criminal justice system.
“The Queens County District Attorney’s Office does remarkable, proactive work protecting the most vulnerable crime victims in the borough. With public safety at the top of his priority list, these funds will help District Attorney Richard Brown combat unscrupulous people who prey on children, immigrants and the elderly. And under the current political landscape, it is imperative we protect our immigrants to ensure that they can confidentially go to a place to seek assistance in case they have been victimized. I want to thank my friend and colleague Senator Avella for working alongside me to secure this funding for the Queens District Attorney’s Office. I also want to thank D.A. Brown and the entire Queens District Attorney’s Office for the great work they do day after day to keep us safe.”
“Now, more than ever, our legal system needs to do all it can to protect the most vulnerable of New Yorkers. This allocation will protect children, immigrants, and seniors, some of the most targeted populations in our City. I am proud that Senator Peralta and I are able to provide this money to protect our fellow Queens residents and am looking forward to all the positive work the DA Brown can do with this funding,” said Senator Avella.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said, “A society is measured by how it treats the weakest and most vulnerable among its people. In Queens County, we have long strived to protect those especially vulnerable to deception, fraud and abuse – the children, the elderly and our immigrant communities. I applaud and welcome Senators Peralta and Avella’s efforts in obtaining for us this $150,000 state allocation that will be used exclusively for those efforts.”
In the area of child sexual and physical abuse, the funding will also support the services of one assistant district attorney based at the Queens Child Advocacy Center (CAC). The center provides comprehensive services to victims of child sexual and physical abuse and their families. The CAC fosters a supportive environment for child victims and their families. Specialized staff includes members of the New York Police Department, the city’s Administration Children’s Services, Safe Horizon and North Shore/LOIJ Health Care System.
To protect elderly victims of crimes, the Queens District Attorney’s Office has assigned assistant district attorneys specially trained in handling these matters to work in a team approach with social workers from the D.A.’s Office, who provide comprehensive support services to the victims. Efforts also include public outreach directed toward building awareness of financial exploitation crimes in Queens County and encouraging elderly victims to come forward and seek help to deal with the consequences of being victimized or financially exploited.
The state allocation will also provide support for the Queens District Attorney’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, established in 2015. The OIA has been proactive in its community outreach efforts throughout Queens, from attending meetings and cultural events, to networking with governmental and nonprofit groups, and launching a hotline and Facebook and Twitter accounts to let community members and our immigrant populations know about services available to them.
Photo (l.-r.): Assistant District Attorneys Kenneth Applebaum, Chief of the Queens D.A.’s Special Victims Bureau, and Carmencita Gutierrez, Director Queens D.A’s Office of Immigrant Affairs; Senators Jose Peralta and Tony Avella; and Assistant District Attorney Kirsten Kane, Chief of the Queens D.A.’s Elder Frau Unit.
