Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz’s year-long push for sustained resources to fight crime and modernize her office reached a milestone this week, as Mayor Eric Adams announced the largest-ever citywide investment in local prosecutors: a combined $633 million for the city’s five district attorney offices in Fiscal Year 2026. The plan includes more than $17 million in new citywide funding this year, with Queens slated for targeted support to hire experienced prosecutors, strengthen technology, and expand capacity for complex cases – priorities Katz first pressed for publicly in March 2024.
At that March 20, 2024, budget hearing before the City Council’s Public Safety Committee, Katz requested a modest $5 million increase to her $96 million annual budget, noting it was about $11 million less than the prior year’s $107.4 million budget, which had been boosted mid-year by state and city allocations. Those extra funds, she explained, had been critical in aiding prosecutions, meeting discovery obligations, funding crimes against revenue programs, and paying personnel.
Mostly seeking to maintain consistent funding, Katz told councilmembers the money was essential to hire more assistant district attorneys and pay competitive salaries, boost the office’s technological capabilities to implement state discovery reforms, and ultimately centralize her staff in a single office space rather than being spread across five locations on Queens Boulevard.
Katz highlighted initiatives launched since taking office in 2020, including the Conviction Integrity Unit, the Human Trafficking Bureau, the Community Partnerships Division, and aggressive efforts to seize ghost guns – leading the city in ghost gun seizures last year. She stressed that attrition, while improved in Queens, remained a concern, and that ADA caseloads, especially in misdemeanors, remained high.
She also addressed IT shortcomings flagged in 2022 by the Legal Aid Society, which criticized Queens’ evidence-sharing system as poorly organized. Katz assured the Council that significant progress was underway, with large-scale IT projects planned to improve secure infrastructure, facilitate discovery compliance, support data-driven crime analysis, and deploy state-of-the-art solutions.
Fast forward to August 6, 2025: Katz stood at City Hall alongside fellow district attorneys to thank the Mayor for delivering not only on those original requests, but on a historic funding increase that will enable Queens to launch a $1.75-million crime strategy lab. For the first time, her office will process digital evidence in-house, rather than relying on outside agencies – a move she says will speed up investigations, meet strict discovery deadlines, and strengthen prosecutions.
“In the modern era, cases often hinge on electronic evidence,” Katz said. “With this new lab, we’ll be able to download and analyze data from phones, computers, and other devices quickly – ensuring victims see justice without delay.”
The funding will also bring more assistant district attorneys, seasoned investigators, IT specialists, and support staff into the Queens office. These additions, Katz noted, are crucial for tackling the crimes that directly affect Queens residents: from gang-related shootings to identity theft, elder fraud, and hate crimes, including anti-Semitic incidents in neighborhoods such as Forest Hills, Kew Gardens Hills, and Rego Park. Her office continues to partner with community leaders, shuls, and safety patrols like Queens Shmira to address threats and build trust.
Mayor Adams praised the DAs as “the real law and order” for their work prosecuting violent offenders, busting drug rings and human traffickers, and protecting domestic violence victims. He pointed to seven consecutive months of record-low shootings and six months of record-low homicides, crediting close coordination between prosecutors, the NYPD, and city agencies.
As the new funding rolls out, Queens residents can expect faster case processing, stronger prosecution of violent crime, and advanced technology to pursue those who prey on vulnerable populations
By Shabsie Saphirstein
