Other Community Initiatives

• Immigrant Affairs Program
• Elder Abuse Unit
• Re-Entry Resources
• Trespass Affidavit Program
• Narcotics Eviction Program

Immigrant Affairs Program

The Immigrant Affairs Program addresses the victimization of immigrants. Immigrants seeking residency or citizenship are often preyed upon by criminals who steal from them by employing a variety of schemes. Deceitful attorneys or other individuals and agencies that offer assistance to immigrants may demand large sums of money for services they have no intention or ability to provide. Undocumented immigrants may also be targeted for criminal schemes and exploitation related to their employment, wages, and housing. The program is meant to aid and encourage both documented and undocumented immigrant victims and witnesses who may fear cooperating with law enforcement because of their immigration status.

Regardless of immigration status, individuals with concerns or issues related to their immigration status and the criminal justice system can make complaints over the telephone to the Immigration Affairs Program Hotline at 212-335-3600. Individuals may also visit the Immigrations Affairs Program, located at One Hogan Place, 7th Floor, between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Information for Witnesses and Victims of the Immigrant Affairs Program.

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Elder Abuse Unit

The Elder Abuse Unit of the New York County District Attorney's Office addresses the needs and concerns of older crime victims who live in Manhattan. In cooperation with the New York City Police Department, Adult Protective Services (“APS”), the New York City Department for the Aging, medical professionals and social service agencies, the Office investigates and prosecutes all kinds of crime involving elderly victims.

The services we provide include:

Information for Victims and Witnesses of the Elder Abuse.

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Re-Entry Resouces

The Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force has release the Second Chances resource guide for reentrants and their families. This guide is intended to support you and your family as you re-integrate into your community. Most of the resources in this guide can be found in Upper Manhattan, although we have included organizations in other parts of New York City as well.

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Trespass Affidavit Program (TAP)

In order to combat drug dealing in the public areas of buildings, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office developed the Trespass Affidavit Program (TAP).

In buildings where drugs are sold, tenants complain about the constant foot traffic by unknown individuals. These unwelcome visitors often loiter in the public areas to sell or use narcotics. Sometimes dealers act as doormen, directing buyers and intimidating residents. Changing locks and posting signs forbidding trespassing is frequently ineffective, and law abiding tenants and landlords can feel powerless to rid their buildings of drug trafficking and the accompanying disorder.

The Trespass Affidavit Program, staffed by our Community Affairs Unit, gives communities an opportunity to change these conditions. When the Community Affairs Unit receives confidential complaints about drug trafficking activity in a particular building, it contacts landlords and registers them in TAP. Landlords must then post signs throughout their building reading "Tenants and Their Guests ONLY," provide the police with a complete list of tenants and keys to their building, and permit police officers to conduct "vertical patrols" in the building. When necessary, officers may make arrests for criminal trespassing.

Currently, more than 3,200 buildings are enrolled in TAP. The program is a valuable tool for law enforcement, allowing it to address prostitution complaints, burglary and assault locations, vacant building problems, and privately-owned empty lots where trespassing is a common occurrence.

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Narcotics Eviction Program

The Narcotics Eviction Program (NEP), administered by the Special Litigatin Bureau, targets drug dealers who have moved their activities into private apartments and commercial buildings. Bringing criminal charges against persons who have brought their illegal business activities indoors has rigid requirements involving search warrants, seizures, and arrests. NEP evicts drug dealers from premises by using a state civil statute, the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law. Pursuing eviction under civil law, in addition to criminal prosecution, allows the District Attorney's Office to wage a two-front attack on drug dealers. Eviction proceedings are brought under the same law against other illegal business operations, such as houses of prostitution, gambling dens, counterfeit goods manufacturers, and firearms traffickers.

The eviction process has three principal stages. First, the Special Projects Bureau reviews all narcotics-related search warrants, and also screens cases referred to it by the Office's Community Affairs Unit, the Police Department, landlords, tenants, and community groups. If the cases meet strict evidentiary requirements, the process moves to the second stage, notification.

After a case has been deemed sufficient, NEP notifies the appropriate landlord and requests that eviction proceedings be initiated against the tenant who is using or allowing others to use the subject apartment or store to conduct an illegal business. Should the landlord fail to comply, the District Attorney's Office has the authority to proceed as though it were the owner of the premises. In most cases, the landlord is more than willing to help evict the tenant and welcomes the support of the Office.

Finally, NEP assists landlords in court by arranging for testimony by police witnesses and by providing the necessary paperwork. The program also provides a staff attorney or paralegal to monitor the proceedings and otherwise assist the landlord's attorney. With the collaboration of the New York City Housing Authority, the District Attorney's Office itself has litigated many eviction actions involving that agency's subsidized rental units. The summary nature of these court proceedings means that the cases are litigated expeditiously.

The Narcotics Eviction Program has developed into an exceptional tool for the removal of drug dealers and other illegal business operators from residential and commercial locations. Since the program's inception in 1988, these undesirable tenants have been removed from over 6,000 locations. Despite this large number, the District Attorney's Office reviews each case individually and is careful not to seek eviction where fairness requires a different remedy.

For more information on this program, please refer to the Trespass Affidavit and Narcotics Eviction Programs Informational Brochure (en Español)