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CityAndStateNY.com
May 16, 2022
STEADY HAND, By Jeff Coltin Photography by Amy Lombard
Queens District Attorney MELINDA KATZ barely won her seat, and she’ll be damned if she doesn’t leave her mark on the office.
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UEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY Melinda Katz took office at one hell of a moment for criminal justice in New York City. Much-lauded changes limiting when judges can ask for bail took effect on Jan. 1, 2020 – Katz’s first day on the job, after being elected in 2019. Less than three months later, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The number of reported crimes cratered, and court went virtual. Then, Black Lives Matter marches responding to the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota, leading to renewed scrutiny of police and prosecutors. Just six months into Katz’s tenure, further adjustments to bail, discovery and speedy trial laws took effect. Now, more than two years in, the number of reported crimes is rising in Queens to rates that ha-
