San Franciscans disgusted with rampant lawlessness showed pro-perp District Attorney Chesa Boudin the door last week in a landslide recall election. Yet New Yorkers fed up with soft-on-crime Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, will have to wait until 2026 to be rid of him — or replace Gov. Kathy Hochul with someone who’s got the guts to oust him sooner.
New York law doesn’t allow for recall votes; only the gov can oust DAs for failing to do their job.
Yet Bragg made clear from the start that he’d put the interests of criminals first: His “Day 1 Memo” outlined all the crimes he’d refuse to prosecute and sentences he’d refuse to seek, even for felons. That drew such outrage that he backtracked — but only slightly. Since then, he’s pursued his top goal, freeing perps, with gusto:
- In January, he initially refused cops’ request for a no-knock warrant, preferring they risk their lives by knocking first to collar dangerous ex-con Jaime Brown for armed robbery. Only days earlier, two NYPD officers were fatally shot in the line of duty. Police eventually got the no-knock warrant, though the delay kept Brown free meanwhile. And when he was nabbed, they recovered a loaded 9mm handgun he could’ve used on them had they been forced to knock first.
- Another warrant case ended worse: Detectives union boss Paul DiGiacomo said Bragg rebuffed requests for a warrant for the gun used by Tyrell Rodgers (23 priors) in an armed robbery. In March, Rodgers allegedly used that very gun to fatally kill another man.
- In January, cops charged Christian Hall with third-degree robbery for allegedly shoplifting and threatening workers with a scissors at a TJ Maxx store. Bragg’s underlings rolled that back to petty larceny; a month later, Hall allegedly sucker-punched a sanitation worker.
- Everyone deserves a second chance, but Bragg offered one defendant her 60th: In February, Nicole Green, who had 59 busts under her belt, was nabbed in a mugging case but set free after Bragg’s office asked for supervised release.
- Bragg prosecutors helped spring Darius Mungin, a suspect in an Upper West Side murder (yes, murder), by agreeing to cut his bond. They cited concerns for Mungin’s safety following gang attacks, but why not try to get jail officials to keep him safe instead?
That’s just a sample of Bragg’s dereliction. And with crime still surging, it’s clear the bad guys have gotten his message: In New York, Bragg will let you slide.
All the Republican candidates for governor and one Democratic one, Tom Suozzi, have vowed to boot Bragg if he won’t do his job. Yet Hochul won’t even criticize him.
If New Yorkers want to follow San Francisco’s example and get rid of their Manhattan DA, they’ll have to fire Hochul first.
