Diana Florence Announces Candidacy For Manhattan District Attorney
For Immediate Release
May 8
Contact: Tyrone Stevens, [email protected]
DIANA FLORENCE ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Longtime prosecutor and lifelong Democrat announces historic Independent candidacy for Manhattan District Attorney
Florence lays out blueprint to restore public safety, reduce crime, and remove partisan politics from DA’s office
Since District Attorney Bragg’s infamous ‘Day One Memo’ downgrading most offenses, major crimes have risen sharply
“The law is a command, not a suggestion.” – Diana Florence
New York, NY – As Manhattan confronts a mounting public safety crisis, longtime prosecutor and lifelong Democrat Diana Florence today formally announced her candidacy for Manhattan District Attorney in a video and rally with supporters at Foley Square in Lower Manhattan. Florence, who has spent 30 years as a prosecutor, announced her Independent candidacy for Manhattan DA on the “Safer Manhattan” line in the November election. Since District Attorney Bragg released his infamous ‘Day One Memo’, a directive that instructed Assistant District Attorneys to downgrade how most crimes were charged, turning felonies into misdemeanors and misdemeanors into no crimes at all, rapes, robberies, felony assaults and other major crimes have risen in Manhattan. With New Yorkers feeling less safe, Florence outlined her vision to restore public safety, reduce crime, and remove partisan politics from the District Attorney’s office.
“The law is a command, not a suggestion. It’s time to bring common sense back to the District Attorney’s office and leave the politics behind,” said candidate for Manhattan District Attorney Diana Florence. “Generating headlines is not the same as generating public safety. Manhattan deserves a DA who will take decisive action to restore order and fairness. My promise is to bring justice to every community — without fear or favor — and make New Yorkers safe at home, safe at work, and safe on the streets.”
The Florence plan for a safer Manhattan includes:
Cracking Down on Crime: Restore public safety by prosecuting violent crime and bringing real consequences to those who commit them.
Ending Downgrading of Offenses: Address quality-of-life crimes like shoplifting, vandalism, and trespass.
Standing Up for Survivors: Ensure tough prosecution of domestic violence and sex crimes.
Supporting Small Businesses: Target retail theft rings and serial shoplifters hurting neighborhood stores.
Protecting Workers: Prosecute wage theft and unsafe job conditions to ensure justice for working people.
Diana Florence started her career 30 years ago in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, after receiving her BA with honors and Phi Beta Kappa and her law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Fluent in Spanish, Florence spent 25 years as a prosecutor focusing on street crime, domestic violence, complex frauds, and corruption cases, ultimately creating and leading the nation’s first Construction Fraud Task Force. She won groundbreaking convictions against companies and individuals for defrauding 9/11 charities, corruption, domestic violence, wage theft, and deadly work conditions. Working side-by-side with community-based groups, unions, worker centers, and government agencies, Florence created an innovative prosecution model heavily rooted in broad based community participation. She also taught trial advocacy for over two decades to lawyers in the DA’s Office and has lectured investigators and lawyers from around the world on topics ranging from inter-agency cooperation to prosecuting fraud, racketeering and workplace homicide.
As an Assistant District Attorney (ADA), Florence held powerful interests accountable by prosecuting landmark cases on behalf of workers and taxpayers. She secured justice for the family of a 22 year-old construction worker, Carlos Moncayo, who was buried alive at work. Using the existing criminal law, Florence obtained convictions against the corporations and site supervisors, who had been repeatedly warned of hazardous conditions, for manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide related to Moncayo’s death. Florence also secured a record breaking wage theft conviction working alongside IronWorkers Local 361 to secure $6 million in stolen wages and back-pay from AGL Industries. Not only did Florence prosecute these cases, she authored two bills—Wage Theft and Carlos’ Law—that later became New York State Laws.
These successes led to her run for Manhattan District Attorney in 2021, with the support of 20 labor unions. The conclusion of Florence’s campaign coincided with a sea of change in collegiate athletics, namely the broad legalization of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation. Recognizing the parallels between immigrant construction workers and these young athletes, namely that both groups were traditionally overlooked and yet were the engines of multi-billion-dollar industries, she transitioned her practice to collegiate athletics as both an attorney and a consultant. She is one of a handful of lawyers nationwide that has successfully sued the NCAA, on behalf of a Division One basketball player at Manhattan College, and won a preliminary injunction that granted him immediate eligibility.
Born in Manhattan, Florence is a long-time resident of Kips Bay where she lives with her husband and two children.
To see District Attorney candidate Diana Florence’s rally at Foley Square, click here.
To see District Attorney candidate Diana Florence’s announcement video, click here.
To see District Attorney candidate Diana Florence’s campaign website, click here.
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Paid for by Diana Florence for Manhattan DA