Scores of NYC Residents Seek Salvation From Their Summonses

Two years ago, Bed-Stuy resident Betsy Cohen was stopped by police for riding her bicycle on the sidewalk. The police issued her a summons on the spot. Over time, her summons turned into a warrant.

Cohen, 31, said she thought about going into a police precinct, but she was fearful of what the police would do.

“I was like, I have a warrant out, but I didn’t want to get arrested,” said Cohen. “I didn’t know how to absolve this issue. So I wrote a letter, but I never heard from them again.”

Cohen was one of approximately 1,250 New York City residents who turned out at Antioch Baptist church today to participate in , a program that vacates the warrants of anyone issued a C-Summons for minor offenses.

Cohen heard about Project Safe Surrender last week, when someone marching in a parade on Palm Sunday handed her a flyer.

“It’s great, because I had no idea what I was going to do,” said Cohen. “The sense of community here is great. Everyone coming together in a safe space. I’m just amazed.”

For two days, beginning Friday, from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, local clergy and more than 300 volunteers, lawyers and judges from the district attorney’s office were on-hand to counsel more than a thousand residents across the five boroughs, while also clean their records of warrants.

The initiative – now in its second year – was spearheaded by Reverend Johnny Ray Youngblood of Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church, Pastor Robert Waterman of Antioch Baptist Church, along with the D.A.s office and dozens of other community groups.

“It’s been great so far. We rallied and were able to make it happen, despite the budget cuts,” said Youngblood. “We’re grateful D.A. Hynes was very willing to work with us, but this is a church-led initiative. People are more willing to come out, because people trust the church.”

Four police precincts together sent out 2,300 letters of invitation to residents with outstanding warrants. More than 500 showed up on Friday. And despite the rain, around 500 more had arrived by 11:00 am today. Youngblood said they were expecting at least another 500 before day’s end.

Delores Thompson, another Bed-Stuy resident who was issued a summons for riding her bicycle on the sidewalk, said she was impressed with how well organized the event was so far:

“It’s wonderful. As we’re sitting here, they come and they talk to you, offer you advice and support,” she said. She heard about the event from the community board meeting. She said she wanted to contest her summons in court, but she had no clue how to deal with the possibility of being arrested.

“I didn’t ride the bicycle completely on the sidewalk,” she said. “There were cars, traffic and congestion. I just got up there, taxied to the door, and then got pulled over.”

Bed-Stuy resident Augustin Herbert 38, just received his summons a few days ago. He is a musician, and said he was pulled over while driving on his way back from rehearsal. He said he came out today “just looking for a little bit of justice.”

“I’m a Rasta man, so every time they see me, they stop me to search my truck," said Herbert. "[They] asked me for my license, and I said, ‘Here’s my license, everything clean.’ He asked, ‘Can I search your van?” And he said he found a piece of a marijuana root," said Herbert.

“He take me down, he run my record, he saw I had no tickets. So he tried to be nice, but he told me he was going to give me this summons ticket,” said Herbert, unfolding a crumpled piece of paper.

“I say, ‘for what? I’m a working man, I do nothing, I have no record.’ They treat me like I’m some big criminal. I never give no problems to nobody. Because I’ve got the African plate on my truck and His Majesty’s sticker.”

Another participant, Theus Maybank, 44, said he felt comfortable coming out after he heard it was at a church, but he was surprised there weren’t more people. He said he knew a lot more people with similar summonses “for nothing.”

“We gotta go through a lot of stuff for summonses that shouldn’t even be written,” said Maybank who received his summons three months ago for loitering in front of the building where he lives. He said he was considering taking the day off from work to try to resolve it, but he couldn’t afford it.

“People are reluctant to go to court, but they are not fearful of the church,” said Anita Alexander, director of social justice and ministry at Mt. Pisgah.

Alexander coordinated all of the volunteers and was responsible for manning 40 posts. But she was upbeat, calling the program "her passion:" “The rain is not stopping us. People can get food stamps, their library cards, register for their social security card, take care of any problems with their driver’s license, everything they need is here.”

Rev. Youngblood says he considers this year's turnout a success. He said they plan to offer the program again next year, but added that things will be different.

Dealing with greater numbers of people and hearing their stories provided Youngblood, and all others involved, greater insight into problems that extend beyond even a minor summons.

“We’re learning some things just by being with the people about other areas that need to be covered,” he said.