The Next Manhattan District Attorney Will Matter for Chinatown

The next district attorney for Manhattan will determine whether violent attacks against Asians will continue or subside. Voters will get a chance to choose between prison or counseling as a way to deter attackers. LAANY, the League of Asian Americans of New York interviewed four DA candidates and two have become front-runners for the June 22 primary; progressive Alvin Bragg and traditionalists Tali Farhadian Weinstein, they are both different in their approach on crime.

Tali Weinstein is more of a traditionalist who believes in having the discretion to enforce all laws and prosecuting people who break them.

Alvin Bragg is proudly part of the new progressive movement in law enforcement which believes in de-carceration and not prosecuting offenders. Instead they seek to direct perpetrators to counseling and give them social services such as housing and subsidies. He has a “do not prosecute list” for crimes such as trespassing and resisting arrests. Other progressive candidates include burglary, petite larceny, forgery, and possession of a firearm on their declination list. He believes perpetrators are victims of poverty and social circumstances and addressing those problems will reduce crime.

Tali Weinstein, whose family escaped persecution from Iran, is a Rhodes Scholar and Yale law school graduate, has opened a campaign office in Chinatown to focus on anti-Asian hate crimes. She still believes that punishment is the most effective way to decrease violence towards Asians.

In cities that elected progressive prosecutors such as Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Chicago crime is up 50–100%. Its now up to Chinatown voters to decide whether compassion or punishment is the best way to deter criminals.