April 8, 2021 – New York, NY – Today, citing the breadth of her experience as a federal and local prosecutor, her commitment to criminal justice reform, and her detailed plans to transform the office’s response to gender-based violence, Gloria Steinem and the National Organization for Women – New York City (NOW-NYC) announced their endorsement of Tali Farhadian Weinstein for Manhattan District Attorney.

“I’m honored to support the candidacy of Tali Farhadian Weinstein for Manhattan District Attorney for many reasons. Having herself fled religious persecution in Iran, she understands the immigrant traditions of this country, and as a woman, she also knows that gender-based and family violence are the root and normalizer of other violence. She will help lead us into a future in which crime is not only prosecuted but prevented,” said Gloria Steinem, the political activist and feminist organizer who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

NOW-NYC is the largest women’s rights organization in New York and works to ignite change for women by advancing laws, securing access to reproductive justice, challenging discrimination, and ending violence against women. The Executive Director of NOW-NYC, Sonia Ossorio, said, “Tali is the one candidate who has both the bona fide expertise in prosecuting complex cases and a bold vision for reimagining the office. We believe that no other candidate is better equipped to reform our criminal justice system, empower survivors of sexual assault, and keep our communities safe.”

Noting Weinstein’s extensive experience, Steinem added, “I’m supporting Tali because of what she has done and what she will do. As a leader at the Brooklyn DA’s office, she created the nation’s first Post-Conviction Justice Bureau, and as Manhattan DA, she will transform the current approach to sex crimes. She also understands how poverty, the lack of victim support services, and failing to listen to survivors have all contributed to perpetuating violence, and how this simple understanding can diminish violence.”

Along with Gloria Steinem, the organization cited a number of key factors in their decision to put the power of their grassroots support behind Tali, including:

• Tali has the necessary expertise. As an Assistant US Attorney for six years, Tali investigated and prosecuted over 150 cases ranging from gun violence and murders to public corruption, tax and other frauds, and national security matters. She also briefed and argued cases in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

• Tali has the right experience. At the Brooklyn DA’s office, she helped lead the charge to implement a criminal justice reform agenda, including creating and overseeing the first Post-Conviction Justice Bureau in the country. She also helped create and supervise a new stand-alone Law Enforcement Accountability Bureau, investigating and prosecuting the police for an array of crimes. She led the team that created an internal process for identifying officers that the district attorney’s office considered unreliable, to ensure prosecutors do not work with those officers in any capacity – a first in New York City.

• Tali has the experience to lead an investigation against Trump. As an Assistant US Attorney, she prosecuted complex tax fraud and evasion cases and other white collar crimes. In the Brooklyn DA’s office, she led the team that successfully sued the Trump Administration over the I.C.E. courthouse arrest policy. She has worked across American legal institutions, understands both federal and state law and jurisdiction and the overlaps and differences between them, and has extensive management and leadership experience.

• Tali will reimagine the Bureau of Gender Based Violence, a much-needed and overdue reform. Tali has an in-depth understanding of the crisis of gender based violence and how poverty, the lack of availability of victim support services, a society that fails to listen to survivors, and many other factors contribute to perpetuating violence and disproportionately harming women of color and the LGBTQ+ community. As a result, she has the most comprehensive and informed plan to overhaul the bureau using a data-driven and trauma-informed approach to increase ADA, investigator, and staff skills and capabilities when responding to survivors.

• Tali knows how to protect victims of domestic violence. She has a nuanced view of the new discovery laws and will ensure that victims and witnesses are protected and not intimidated. She has pledged to use digital technology to shield witnesses’ actual phone numbers, will advocate for refinements to the new law that requires disclosing victim and witness contact information, and will instruct ADAs to seek protective orders when necessary.

• Tali will prioritize gun violence. She will work to stem the flow of guns into our city and use her experience as a federal prosecutor to coordinate with federal agencies to build trafficking cases. She will create a Gun Court to increase the speed of prosecution, which is a proven deterrent, and implement a multi-faceted strategy through a new Gun Violence Coordinator.

NOW-NYC and Gloria Steinem’s support follows the recent endorsements of Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (NY-7) and Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13).

Tali is also endorsed by Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15), US Attorney General Eric Holder, former NAACP President Ben Jealous, esteemed First Amendment lawyer Victor Kovner and his wife, activist Sarah Kovner, former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, and Jackie Rowe-Adams, co-founder of Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E.

If elected, Tali would be the first woman and first immigrant elected to serve as Manhattan District Attorney. To learn more about Tali’s campaign, visit www.TaliForDA.com.

Watch our conversation with Tali Farhadian Weinstein.
View Tali’s candidate questionnaire.

NOW-NYC ignites change for the women and girls of New York. We advance laws, promote women in politics, fight for reproductive justice, challenge discrimination and violence against women, and act NOW.

###

For press inquiries call 212.627.9895 or email [email protected]