Brooklyn: Here's Another Chance to Clear Your Open Arrest Warrants

BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN — Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson is offering another chance for New Yorkers to take care of open arrest warrants without going to court.

The DA's fourth "Begin Again" event will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 11 at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, located at 1405 Bushwick Ave.

At the church, legal counseling will be provided by the Office of Court Administration, the Legal Aid Society and the NYPD.

According to the DA's Office, attendees will meet with a Legal Aid Society attorney to evaluate their warrants, then appear before a judge to deal with any warrants that are open.

Three similar events in 2015 drew a total of 2,396 participants, according to the DA's Office, and 1,600 warrants were cleared.

No arrests were made at the events, and all of those who attended received free legal advice, according to the DA.

At the end of 2015, a stunning 1,166,000 open warrants were on the books for New York City residents —  of which 274,000 belonged to Brooklynites — according to the Office of Court Administration.

Open warrants often result from a failure to attend a court hearing for a minor criminal offense, such as drinking in public or riding a bicycle on the sidewalk.

In May, the New York City Council passed a group of bills designed to instead filter these kinds of small violations through the civil court system, preventing them from turning into open warrants at a later date.

Top photo by Gerben Jacobs