There have been a lot of radical proposals and promises this campaign season. From free buses and city grocery stores to declaring the NYPD a threat to public safety. But I’m here to make a truly radical promise: as Manhattan’s new district attorney, I will prosecute criminals.
That shouldn’t sound like a radical act, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s has done anything but his job. From day one Bragg has failed to stand up to violent felons who attack women and girls, repeatedly pleaded down crimes, chosen to put repeat offenders back on the streets and let our small businesses feel terrorized. He’s been more concerned with protecting criminals than the people who live, work and visit Manhattan.
In fact, the only thing he has managed to lock up in Manhattan is the deodorant aisle.
The numbers speak for Bragg’s failed record. To start, felony conviction rates have collapsed under his watch. In the year before Bragg took office, the felony conviction rate was 42%. Last year, it was just 35%. And for 2025? Bragg covered his tracks, hiding the numbers to keep New Yorkers blind and himself off the hook.
This shouldn’t surprise anyone considering right after he took office, Bragg issued his infamous “day one memo” promising to prosecute less and downgrade more.
That’s one promise he’s managed to keep.
And it’s not just convictions. In Manhattan, major crime is up more than 15% from 2021. Rapes are up nearly 30%. Grand larceny is up more than 30% and felony assaults up more than 13%. These aren’t just numbers; they represent real people whose lives have been impacted well beyond just the moment the crime took place.
We don’t need numbers to understand the consequences of Bragg’s failures. We live them everyday on the streets of Manhattan.
Like the woman who was attacked on a subway platform by Tyriek Martin, a man with a long history of violent assaults. He smashed her head, threw her to the ground, and then tried to rape her.
Or the 15-year-old who was charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting at someone in Harlem, but was released because the Manhattan DA failed to file the indictment on time.
Or the man who was arrested for raping a teenager, a crime that should have carried a 25 year prison sentence, but which Bragg reduced to a misdemeanor that carried only a 30 day jail sentence.
These are stark reminders that our streets are unsafe and our communities are at risk because the very leader we elected to hold criminals accountable has repeatedly failed to do his job.
Even our police commissioner believes Bragg has been asleep on the job, recently noting because of the decriminalization policies Bragg has embraced, before our police officers can finish arrest paperwork, offenders “are back out on the street, immediately returned to the neighborhood and the people that they just victimized.”
In the real world, when you fail to do your job you get fired. That’s exactly what needs to happen with Bragg. I’m running for Manhattan district attorney to make Manhattan safe again and return the office to its core mission: prosecuting crime.
When people ask if I can get the job done, my answer is a resounding yes. With 25 years of experience prosecuting every type of crime in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, I’ve spent my career fighting to keep our communities safe. As a lifelong Democrat running as an independent, I’m ready to do it as Manhattan’s next district attorney.
But this race isn’t just about me. It’s about the women who are too scared to ride the subway home at night. It’s about the families who live in neighborhoods where crime has become a daily threat. It’s about every New Yorker who deserves to feel safe in their own city and why we need a district attorney who will put criminals behind bars, not let them walk free.
This election isn’t about empty promises or cheap headlines. It’s about real results. Manhattan deserves a district attorney who will do the job every single day. I’m ready to deliver for our city, and I won’t stop until criminals are held accountable and our communities are safe.
Florence is running for Manhattan district attorney next month as an independent. She is a lifelong Democrat and a 25-year prosecutor.
