Press Release

District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the creation of a new Bureau to enhance and expand restorative justice programs and units within the Queens DA’s Office and the appointment of Aisha Greene as its Bureau Chief.

District Attorney Katz said, “The Rehabilitation Programs and Restorative Services Bureau is a fulfillment of my promise to ensure that the Queens District Attorney’s Office administers justice with compassion. Aisha Greene’s experience as a prosecutor and proven record in implementing and leading intervention programs make her an ideal choice to lead this new Bureau.”

The Bureau consists of the Diversion and Alternative Sentencing Unit and the Crime Victims Advocate Program.

The Diversion and Alternative Sentencing Unit is dedicated to ensuring that individuals who have been arrested are offered opportunities for appropriate interventions and/or rehabilitative services. The Unit offers preand post-arraignment diversion opportunities to individuals arrested for low-level offenses. The diversion opportunities provide one-time or short terms interventions that typically result in cases being sealed upon successful completion. Additionally, within the Unit, the Second Chance Community Justice Program is a diversion program where community members/leaders hear cases referred to them and offer low-level offenders the opportunity to repair and restore their relationships with their communities.

Also part of the newly formed bureau is the Crime Victims Advocate Program, which continues to provide support to crime victims – including counseling services, assistance navigating the court system and obtaining reimbursement for crime-related expenses, and referrals to a wide number of other services. The

Program provides an environment that empowers crime victims to actively seek justice for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Prior to leading this Bureau, Assistant District Attorney Greene was Chief of the Alternatives to Incarceration Bureau at the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office. She was previously Director of Brooklyn Justice Initiatives and Associate Director of Research-Practice Strategies at the Center for Court Innovation. Prior to that, Ms. Greene was the principal court attorney to a New York State Supreme Court Justice in the Integrated Domestic Violence part in Queens County and a felony trial part in Kings County. She started her career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Domestic Violence, Appeals and Narcotics Trials Bureaus of the Queens County District Attorney’s Office.

The Rehabilitation Programs and Restorative Services Bureau operates under the District Attorney’s Criminal Practice and Policy Division led by Executive Assistant District Attorney Angela Albertus.