Queens DA Richard Brown To Leave Office After Almost 3 Decades

QUEENS, NY — Queens's top prosecutor will leave office this year nearly three decades in the post. District Attorney Richard Brown will finish out his current term but will not seek re-election in November, he announced Wednesday.

Brown, an 86-year-old Democrat, has had the longest tenure of New York City's current district attorneys and is the longest-serving DA in Queeens history. He was first appointed to the job in 1991 after working as a lawyer and a judge. He won his first full term that year and was re-elected six times, most recently in 2015.

In a statement, Brown said it has been "an honor and a privilege" to serve the residents of "the most ethnically diverse county in the world."

"While it is difficult to say goodbye, I am comforted by the knowledge that I leave a legacy of accomplishment, excellence and government at its best, for which anyone can be proud," he said.

Brown's long-expected departure officially opens up what's expected to be a heated race to replace him this year. There are already several declared candidates for his job, including City Councilman Rory Lancman, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and Gregory Lasak, a retired state Supreme Court judge.

In his statement, Brown touted several initiatives he has overseen, including the establishment of special drug courts and the Queens Treatment Intervention Program, which aims to tackle the opioid epidemic by avoiding convictions and offering counseling and treatment.

"We have been a leading advocate for improvements in criminal justice legislation, including measures to ensure the recording of interrogations, enhanced identification procedures and for the sealing of old convictions," he said.

But Brown has drawn the ire of many criminal justice reform advocates, who argue he has taken too punitive an approach to issues such as marijuana prosecutions and fare evasion.

Brown has also steadfastly opposed Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to close Rikers Island, which has long been a priority for reformers who contend the jail complex is inhumane and dangerous.

On the same day he announced his plans to leave office, the New York Daily News published an op-ed by Brown arguing the city should rebuild the jails on Rikers instead of erecting new facilities in four boroughs.

(Lead image: Queens District Attorney Richard Brown is seen in 2006. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)