Soft-on-crime Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accepted free tickets worth at least $21,500 to attend 20 posh black-tie fundraisers and other galas last year — many thrown by lefty organizations doing business with the city.
Thirteen of the 20 events were hosted by nonprofits and other organizations that hold city contracts.
Most of the tickets were valued between $1,000 and nearly $5,000 each, with several featuring sports, Hollywood, and music celebrities, according to Bragg’s 2025 financial disclosure forms filed with the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board and made public this week.
The 2025 events included:
- An April 8 “Paths to Progress” gala at Ziegfeld Ballroom for the Vera Institute of Justice, whose mission is ending “mass incarceration.” The group’s annual dinner helps raise money to “reform the criminal, legal and immigration systems,” according to its website.
- The Robin Hood Foundation’s May 12 benefit at Javits Center, which was hosted ex-Giants star and “Good Morning America” co-host Michael Strahan and also included musical performances by The Weeknd and singer and “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane. Tickets ran $3,000 to $5,000 a pop and paid attendees — unlike Bragg — helped raise $72 million for New Yorkers living in poverty.
- Phoenix House’s annual soiree in Midtown on May 1 honoring past alumni of the nonprofit for their recovery from substance abuse. Featured guests included Gov. Kathy Hochul and “American Pie” actor Jason Biggs.
The seven 2025 events not thrown by groups with city business included the April 2 “Keepers of the Dream” awards dinner for Rev. Al Sharpton’s civil rights group National Action Network, which holds plenty of clout with New York Democratic pols; and a Nov. 11 gala for LatinoJustice, which is among the plaintiffs in an ongoing federal lawsuit trying to abolish the NYPD’s gang database.
Bragg — a Democrat who’s has been slammed by critics since taking over as DA in 2022 for villainizing victims while going easy on suspects — reported his ticket totals were worth in the range of $21,500 to nearly $138,000.
By comparison, Bronx DA Darcel Clark disclosed in her filing that she attended seven events last year as gifts worth a combined $1,300 to nearly $11,000; Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez reported attending four valued at a combined $2,500 to $11,300; and Queens DA Melinda Katz and Staten Island DA Michael McMahon reported no such freebies.
Bragg didn’t report attending any events as free gifts in his financial disclosure statements during his first two years in office, but The Post previously reported he attended 17 galas in 2024 where the tickets he was comped were worth in the range of $9,400 to nearly $53,000.
“Alvin Bragg has spent more time rubbing elbows with the political elite than locking up criminals,” said ex-Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens).
“The Manhattan District Attorney should be focused on enforcing the law, not collecting free VIP tickets from organizations with business before the city. At the very least, it creates the appearance of a conflict, and that’s something the top prosecutor should avoid.”
Bragg spokesperson Danielle Filson dismissed any criticism, and pointed to a 62% decline in shootings and 74% drop in murders in Manhattan since her boss took office.
