Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez Endorses Cy Vance for Manhattan DA

CONTACT:
Erin Duggan
Cy Vance for Manhattan DA
(646) 248-4370
eduggan@cyvanceforda.com [1]

Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, who represents New York’s 12th Congressional District, today announced her support for Cy Vance, Democratic candidate for Manhattan District Attorney. A long-time advocate for Latino communities, small business owners, tenants’ rights, and women’s issues, Velázquez commended Vance’s efforts in these areas and expressed confidence in Vance’s plans for the District Attorney’s Office.

“After examining his record and listening to his plans for the Office, I know that Cy Vance will be the best District Attorney for the Latino community, for women, and for Manhattan,” Congresswoman Velázquez said. “Vance will fight for immigrants by devoting new resources to immigrant protection, outreach, and education – he will make sure that immigrants do not fall prey to frauds and that they feel comfortable coming forward to report crime. He will fight to keep women safe by prosecuting domestic violence forcefully – but more importantly, he will fight to prevent domestic violence from occurring in the first place. To help victims, he will advocate for a Family Justice Center to provide essential services and to protect women and children from further violence. His experience prosecuting white collar crimes will allow him to fight to protect small businesses. All of these plans – and his remarkable character and temperament – have convinced me that Cy Vance is absolutely the most qualified candidate for Manhattan District Attorney.”

“I’m thrilled to have the support of Congresswoman Velázquez,” said Vance. “She is a remarkable woman: the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, she was also the first Hispanic woman to serve as ranking member of a full House committee and the first Latina to chair a full Congressional committee. She has served on the New York City Council, and she initiated Atrevete, one of the most successful Latino empowerment programs in American history. Throughout her incredible career, she has consistently fought for the most underrepresented in New York and America: women, immigrants and the poor. I look forward to working with her to protect immigrants’ rights, to prevent domestic violence, and to ensure fair housing and tenants’ rights.”

Congresswoman Velázquez currently leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for the 111th Congress, where she focuses on building a legislative agenda that increases opportunities for the nation’s 47 million Hispanics – including more than 2.3 million Latinos in New York City. She also chairs the Committee on Small Business, where she works to foster opportunity and support minority enterprise.

Congresswoman Velázquez is the most recent of many prominent progressive politicians and public figures to support Vance. Vance has been endorsed by the New York Times and the Daily News, State Senator Tom Duane, current District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, Teamsters Local 237, former Mayor David Dinkins, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Gloria Steinem, Former Mayor David Dinkins, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, former Comptroller H. Carl McCall, Council Member Alan Gerson, former U.S. Attorneys Robert Fiske and Zachary Carter, citywide LGBT club Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, the founders of the Innocence Project, the founder of the Doe Fund, and many more. He is also supported by more than 100 former ADA’s – men and women who have worked with all three candidates and know what it takes to be an exemplary District Attorney.

As District Attorney, Vance will:

• Protect Immigrants. Manhattan’s immigrant communities continue to be the most vulnerable to crime and exploitation and the least likely to seek the services provided by the DA’s office. As DA, Vance will significantly enhance efforts to help immigrant communities by increasing fraud enforcement, focusing on education and prevention, and ensuring that the DA’s Office is a place where all people feel safe reporting crime. The plan includes:
• An Immigrant Affairs Unit. The existing Immigrant Affairs Program will be elevated to full unit status within the Special Prosecutions Bureau of the District Attorney’s Office.
• Increased Resources. Resources will be doubled, with specially-trained Assistant District Attorneys and new immigrant-assistance coordinators assigned to the unit.
• Education. Current pilot programs for public education in the schools and special seminars on immigrant rights and fraud prevention will be expanded and will become formal parts of the unit’s mandate.
• Form a Family Protection Bureau. Cases currently prosecuted by the Family Violence and Child Abuse Bureau will be handled by a new Family Protection Bureau, with additional investigators and support staff. The new bureau will improve the handling of domestic and interpersonal violence cases by assigning them to more experienced lawyers.
• Establish a Family Justice Center in Northern Manhattan. Family Justice Centers have served many thousands of victims and their children by bringing essential services into one place. The Centers provide a wide spectrum of services for the victim, including: meeting with a prosecutor, filing a police report, civil legal services, counseling for victims and children and much more. Vance’s Office will work to establish a Family Justice Center in Northern Manhattan where a disproportionate number of the county’s domestic violence cases are reported.
• Establish a Washington Heights Office. Vance will work to establish a permanent office of the District Attorney in Washington Heights/Inwood to serve its residents. The persistent domestic violence problems and unique concerns of the large immigrant population warrant the establishment of an additional office that is centrally located within Washington Heights. Having a physical presence in Washington Heights will allow residents to have access to the resources of the DA’s Office, such as counseling, social services, and legal services. Most importantly, the prosecutors in the office will be able to establish relationships with local leaders and residents, so that they can better serve the community.
• Institute Community-Based Justice Model. Vance will fundamentally restructure the DA’s Office by assigning prosecutors to geographic zones based on police precincts. This system will give prosecutors a greater sense of identification with Manhattan’s many neighborhoods and communities and improve two-way communication and accountability. It will allow prosecutors to better understand communities, build trust with residents, spot crime trends early, and develop effective, localized responses.