[This is the second in a series of articles on the dark money behind urban decay in the United States. Mr. Jim Nelles will next explore the challenges facing Philadelphia under District Attorney Larry Krasner.]

New York holds a very special place in America's psyche. It served as the seat of American political power for more than five years starting in 1785, was once the entry point for the immigrants legally coming to the United States, and has been the city that symbolizes the greatness and potential of the American dream to millions around the world.

New York experienced a renaissance under the leadership of Mayor Rudy Giuliani as crime and drug use decreased, tourism boomed, and an investment in policing made the city one of the safest in the nation, if not the world. The city continued to experience declining crime rates under Mayor Michael Bloomberg .

Fast forward to 2023 and New York has become a dangerous city filled with random crime, violence, and drug use. At the center of the city’s fast-paced demise is Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The leftist was elected as Manhattan's district attorney in November 2021, thanks in large part to more than $1 million in campaign contributions from organizations linked to George Soros, the man behind the dark money that is driving urban decay in the U.S.

Bragg ran on a platform of changing the “culture of the DA’s office” and vowed to “de-prosecute certain low-level offenses, including resisting arrest, trespassing, and fare evasion.”

Bragg got his wish. In 2022, his first year in office, major crimes rose 22% in the city, per the New York Times , with 126,537 major crimes being committed in a single year. There were 189,777 arrests in New York in 2022, 47,572 of which were for the most serious crimes: “homicide, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand larceny of a motor vehicle.”

Through the end of November 2022, Bragg had downgraded 52% of felony cases to misdemeanors compared to 39% in all of 2019. Bragg’s office wins convictions in felony cases just 51% of the time, down from 68% in 2019. Misdemeanor convictions have also declined, down to 29% through November 2022, from 68% in 2019, according to the New York Post .

Drug use , drug-related crime, and overdoses are also on the rise under Bragg’s watch. New York’s upscale neighborhood of Chelsea is so overrun with drug pushers and addicts that its residents no longer feel safe. As one Chelsea resident and mother told Fox5 New York , “We have people going around the block … taking drugs, having sex in the basements, breaking in … we feel like the area is not safe for our kids.”

Sadly, hate crimes are also increasing at an alarming rate. Through April 10, 2022, hate crimes had increased by 76%, compared to the same time frame in 2021. Antisemitic crimes, in particular, were up 207%.

Bragg talks a good game, having stated that “your first civil right is to walk safely to your corner store, so as your district attorney, I’m working on that every day.” But his actions and the city’s crime rates show Bragg is not interested in reducing violent crime and making his city safe. He is simply carrying the water for Soros.

Soros “bought-and-paid-for prosecutors encourage lawlessness, harm law-abiding residents (especially minorities), drive businesses out of cities, and demoralize the police by treating them as the criminals,” according to a recent Heritage Foundation report. Bragg personifies this description.

Bragg is up for reelection in November 2025. The people of New York must vote him out of office and restore law and order to this once-great city.

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Jim Nelles is a supply chain consultant based in Chicago. He has served as a chief procurement officer, chief supply chain officer, and chief operations officer for multiple companies.