The Universal Church, where the Queens District Attorney’s summons clearance event will be held. (Google Maps)
Oct. 17, 2018 By Laura Hanrahan
Low-level offenders with outstanding warrants will have an opportunity to clear their record at the Queens District Attorney’s “Second Chance” event in Woodside Saturday.
The event, which is being held at the Universal Church at 68-03 Roosevelt Ave., is primarily for people who have warrants for failing to appear in court for low-level offenses such as disorderly conduct, littering or drinking alcohol in public.
Individuals with warrants issued in any of the five boroughs will be able to have them cleared. A copy of the summons will not be required, but attendees will need to bring a piece of state-issued identification.
People with more serious offenses, such as labor law violations, child support warrants and felonies will not qualify to have their warrants cleared at the event. Representatives from the Legal Aid Society and other defense attorneys, however, will be available at the event to advise on what options are available.
Undocumented immigrants and those seeking legal aid while possessing outstanding warrants for more serious offenses will not be at risk of arrest during the event, the Queens DA’s office said.
The “Second Chance” event will also have a resource fair featuring information on job training, healthcare, education and general social services.
At last year’s event, the first of its kind in Queens, around 200 people showed up to clear their summons, according to the TimesLedger.
“Outstanding warrants have caused some unduly harsh things to happen to people in regards to housing, education and jobs,” said Jesse Sligh, from the Queens DA office, to the paper. “We’re trying to ameliorate that for them. People who have summons it, affects them in moving forward in life and that’s why we’re here.”
The “Second Chance” event will be held at the Universal Church, located at 68-03 Roosevelt Ave, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 20. For more information, visit www.queensda.org.
