Brooklynites can have their past marijuana convictions vacated this weekend
After announcing a plan to vacate as many as 20,000 misdemeanor marijuana convictions earlier this month, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez will begin the process this morning at a church in Prospect-Lefferts, as part of his Begin Again program.
The move is seen as an attempt to bridge the gap in the documented racial inequality of marijuana enforcement by the NYPD as the city decriminalizes the drug and as New York state and its neighbors consider full legalization.
“Outstanding summons warrants and low-level marijuana convictions hold people back in a myriad of ways and do little to enhance public safety,” Gonzalez said. “By giving folks the opportunity to erase these convictions and warrants from their record, we allow them to move on with their lives while fostering community trust in the criminal justice system.”
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.