Brooklyn United States Attorney Breon Peace is proud to have lived his teenage formative years in the borough.

“I’m a Brooklyn boy,” said Peace. “Once in Brooklyn, always a Brooklyn boy.”

Peace is the Justice Department’s top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York, covering about eight million people.

“We have Brooklyn, we have Queens, we have Staten Island, and all of Long Island,” explained Peace.

What You Need To Know

  • Breon Peace was named U.S. attorney in Brooklyn in Oct. 2021.

  • He lived in Brooklyn as a teeanger, but was born in Philadelphia and also lived in New Jersey as a child.

  • As a teen he worked in a shoe store in Albee Square Mall.

  • He worked as a private attorney for a white-shoe firm and a federal prosecutor.

That makes him one of the most powerful law enforcement officials in the country. Peace has been the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn for one year, but he’s proud to say he’s from Brooklyn, moving there from New Jersey with his parents as a teenager and attending Clara Barton High School in Crown Heights. He was into basketball and was a point guard.

He was definitely into hip hop at a time the music was becoming a worldwide phenomenon. He quickly rattled off his favorite artists at the time.

“Oh, there were so many. Back then, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B and Rakim, Run DMC, LL Cool J, and then a little later, A Tribe Called Quest, MC Lyte,” he said.

But he was also into his school work at Clara Barton High School, graduating as the valedictorian in 1989.

In his first sit down interview, he spoke with NY1 inside his old school. He said when he was a teenager walking the hallways, he never thought he would be coming back as U.S. Attorney.

Now, Peace is responsible for going after all sorts of criminals. One of the most important cases currently, prosecuting alleged subway shooter Frank James for an act of terrorism.

“In the office and we get reports through Twitter that there was a shooting on the subway. For me it’s Brooklyn, it’s the N train,” he said.

Ten people were shot and injured as James allegedly set off smoke bombs and fired shots on the crowded train during the morning rush back on April 12.

“Fear running through the city, I ride the subway and have all my life,” Peace said. “I understand how people would feel when something like that happens. So we put all of our effort into working to bring the individual to justice. As you said Dean, we are prosecuting him now for charges under federal statute, terrorism attack in mass transportation system.”

His office oversaw the successful prosecution of superstar singer R. Kelly for sexually abusing girls and women. Peace admits he was once a fan of the Grammy winner.

“Of course, not anymore, not anymore. To me, it’s an example of and focusing on whoever breaks the law should be held accountable. Your fame, your fortune, your race shouldn’t shield you from being held accountable,” he said. 

Peace says a part of his sense of fairness and justice comes from his years as a private attorney and a prosecutor. But, also from seeing lots of disturbing aspects of life, as well as good things as a teenager in Brooklyn.  

Inside Zion Baptist Church on Washington Avenue, he points to a picture of his father. His dad was the pastor at the Brooklyn church for more than three decades. Peace describes himself as a P-K, which means preacher’s kid.

“I think preacher’s kid is important because as the pastor’s son you get a lot of attention, you get a lot of expectations. A lot of scrutiny. So you have to be on top of it,” he said. 

Peace is also working to protect immigrants in his district. He’s prosecuting several cases in which Asian communities are victimized. He’s issuing news releases in their native languages to help them understand what’s going on. 

When it comes to drug trafficking, shootings and gangs in the city, he says he’s going after the ringleaders who are causing the violence and chaos whether they’re on Flatbush Avenue or overseas.

The U.S. attorney believes successful crime fighting is more than just sending people to federal prison.

“My view is that we are not just here as prosecutors to just react, to investigate and prosecute crimes that have occurred. There is a role for us to play on the front end in trying to deter crime, to try to divert people from jail as well as on the back end as people leave jail and re-enter society," he said.

U.S. Attorney Peace said for him, this is not being soft on crime, but rather having smart crime prevention techniques working within the criminal justice system.