DWI arrests on Staten Island, on the Staten Island Expressway, the West Shore Expressway, Hylan Boulevard, Richmond Avenue, and at the bridges, are prosecuted by the Richmond County District Attorney's office. Jonathan Kaye is a Staten Island DWI lawyer and former Assistant District Attorney who has defended New York drivers for over 30 years. He handles every case personally, and a misdemeanor DWI is a flat $1,500 legal fee. Staten Island is one of the seven practice areas he covers across New York City and Long Island.
Whether you call it a DWI or a Staten Island DUI, and whether you were stopped by the NYPD or by State Troopers on the expressway, the case ends up in the same courthouse in St. George.
Staten Island DWI arrests by the numbers
The NYPD made 245 DWI arrests on Staten Island in 2025, the fewest of the five boroughs in raw numbers. Adjusted for population, the picture flips: Staten Island had about 49 DWI arrests per 100,000 residents, the highest rate in the city.
| Borough | DWI arrests, 2025 | Per 100,000 residents |
|---|---|---|
| Staten Island | 245 | 49 |
| Queens | 990 | 41 |
| Bronx | 558 | 38 |
| Brooklyn | 918 | 34 |
| Manhattan | 294 | 17 |
NYPD arrest data from NYC Open Data. Rates use 2020 Census population and are rounded.
Staten Island arrests peaked at 641 in 2016, fell sharply in 2020, and are up 7% since, to 245.
NYPD DWI arrests in Staten Island, 2006 to 2025
Arrests the NYPD classified as intoxicated or impaired driving, by year.
View the numbers
| Year | DWI arrests |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 616 |
| 2007 | 519 |
| 2008 | 425 |
| 2009 | 405 |
| 2010 | 382 |
| 2011 | 475 |
| 2012 | 433 |
| 2013 | 549 |
| 2014 | 531 |
| 2015 | 546 |
| 2016 | 641 |
| 2017 | 631 |
| 2018 | 611 |
| 2019 | 564 |
| 2020 | 228 |
| 2021 | 236 |
| 2022 | 201 |
| 2023 | 205 |
| 2024 | 194 |
| 2025 | 245 |
Source: NYC Open Data, NYPD Arrests Data (Historic), offense category "Intoxicated & Impaired Driving."
A driving borough: why the license matters most here
Staten Island is the most car-dependent part of New York City, so for most people arrested here, the first question is not jail. It is whether they can keep driving to work. A Staten Island DWI attorney has to protect the license from the first court date:
Where and when Staten Island DWI arrests happen
Many impaired-driving arrests on Staten Island come off the highways: the Staten Island Expressway (I-278) toward the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, the West Shore Expressway (Route 440), and the Korean War Veterans Parkway. New York State Troopers patrol the expressway, and the people they arrest are usually tested at the NYPD's 120th Precinct. On local roads, stops cluster on Hylan Boulevard, Richmond Avenue, Victory Boulevard, and Forest Avenue, and near the bar and restaurant strips in St. George, Great Kills and along the South Shore.
The timing is a little earlier than the rest of the city. About 56% of Staten Island's alcohol-involved crashes happen between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m., but the single worst hour is the one starting at 9 p.m., not after midnight. Saturdays and Sundays each see about 2.4 times as many as a typical weekday.
Alcohol-involved crashes in Staten Island, by hour
View the numbers
| Hour starting | Crashes |
|---|---|
| midnight | 33 |
| 1 a.m. | 25 |
| 2 a.m. | 28 |
| 3 a.m. | 20 |
| 4 a.m. | 12 |
| 5 a.m. | 14 |
| 6 a.m. | 9 |
| 7 a.m. | 10 |
| 8 a.m. | 6 |
| 9 a.m. | 3 |
| 10 a.m. | 7 |
| 11 a.m. | 7 |
| noon | 5 |
| 1 p.m. | 3 |
| 2 p.m. | 10 |
| 3 p.m. | 7 |
| 4 p.m. | 5 |
| 5 p.m. | 10 |
| 6 p.m. | 17 |
| 7 p.m. | 15 |
| 8 p.m. | 25 |
| 9 p.m. | 38 |
| 10 p.m. | 33 |
| 11 p.m. | 34 |
By day of the week
View the numbers
| Day | Crashes |
|---|---|
| Sunday | 103 |
| Monday | 48 |
| Tuesday | 17 |
| Wednesday | 41 |
| Thursday | 40 |
| Friday | 52 |
| Saturday | 75 |
Source: NYC Open Data, Motor Vehicle Collisions: Crashes. Police crash reports in Staten Island listing alcohol involvement as a contributing factor, January 2021 through September 2026 (376 crashes). Crash timing is shown because arrest records do not include the time of day.
Highway stops raise their own defense questions: what the trooper or officer actually saw at speed, and whether roadside tests on an expressway shoulder at night were given and scored correctly. See how field sobriety tests are challenged.
How a Staten Island DWI case moves
Everything happens at the Richmond County Courthouse, 26 Central Avenue in St. George, a short walk from the ferry terminal. A misdemeanor DWI is arraigned and handled in Richmond County Criminal Court. A felony, such as a DWI with a prior conviction within ten years, a child in the car, or a crash causing serious injury, is presented to a grand jury and moves to Richmond County Supreme Court in the same building.
After arraignment, the People must turn over the evidence under CPL 245: police reports, breath-test records, calibration data and video. That discovery, reviewed by a lawyer who has prosecuted DWI cases, is where most of the decisions in a case get made. See what happens after a first DWI and how a DWI gets reduced to DWAI.
New Jersey drivers
Three bridges connect Staten Island to New Jersey, the Goethals, the Outerbridge Crossing and the Bayonne, and some of the drivers arrested for DWI on Staten Island live in New Jersey. The case is decided in St. George under New York law, but it follows you home: New York reports it to New Jersey, which may apply its own license penalties. Read more about DWI charges for out-of-state drivers.
What a Staten Island DWI attorney costs
Jonathan's fee for a misdemeanor DWI on Staten Island is a flat $1,500, arraignment to resolution, in writing before any work begins. No hourly billing, no retainer to replenish, and no hand-off to an associate. Felony cases, trials, and separate DMV refusal hearings are quoted individually. See exactly what the flat fee covers.
Plan your ride home on Staten Island
Nobody plans to get a DWI. Almost every DWI arrest starts with someone who felt fine to drive, and alcohol affects judgment before anything else. On Staten Island, where most people drive everywhere, the plan has to be made before the first drink.
- The Staten Island Railway and the ferry both run around the clock, but much of the island, especially the South Shore and the West Shore, is a long way from a station.
- Leave the car at home or pick a designated driver. If the car is not there, the decision is already made.
- Remember the morning after. If you were drinking late, you may still be over the limit on the drive to work.
- Do not sleep it off behind the wheel. In New York, sitting in the driver's seat with the engine running can be enough to be charged, even when parked.
If alcohol is part of the story: local help on Staten Island
A DWI arrest does not mean someone has a drinking problem. But if you or someone close to you has been worried about drinking, this is a good moment to look into it, and taking that step on your own can also be something your lawyer presents on your behalf.
Staten Island DWI cases in the news
These are real, public Staten Island cases, written up in full with the charges and what they mean under New York law. They show how a DWI escalates when a crash or a child is involved, not what will happen in any other case.
Ex-officer with a .24 BAC convicted of aggravated vehicular homicide after a wrong-way crash
Driving the wrong way at 4:30 a.m., he hit a tractor-trailer head-on, killing two men and seriously injuring a third. A Staten Island jury convicted him on all counts, and he received the maximum, 8 1/3 to 25 years.
Read the full case →Driver charged with manslaughter and DWI after his pregnant fiancee is killed
Police say the driver lost control near Ross Avenue and hit a pole, and his 23-year-old passenger was killed. He was charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, vehicular assault and DWI.
Read the full case →Two Leandra's Law felony arrests, each with a young child in the car
State Troopers stopped two drivers on I-278 for speeding and aggressive driving, one with a 9-year-old and one with a 2-year-old in the back seat. Both were charged with aggravated DWI under Leandra's Law, a class E felony. Both cases are pending.
Read the full case →From public court filings, Richmond County District Attorney and State Police releases, and news reports. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt. Every person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
More across the city and Long Island on our DWI cases in the news page.
Staten Island DWI questions, answered
Where is a Staten Island DWI case heard?
Both misdemeanor and felony DWI cases on Staten Island are heard at the Richmond County Courthouse, 26 Central Avenue in St. George. Misdemeanors are in Richmond County Criminal Court, and felonies are in Richmond County Supreme Court in the same building.
I was arrested by State Police on the Staten Island Expressway. Is that different?
The charges and the court are the same. State Troopers patrol the Staten Island Expressway, and people they arrest are usually tested at the NYPD's 120th Precinct and arraigned in Richmond County Criminal Court. The Richmond County District Attorney prosecutes the case either way.
Can I keep driving after a Staten Island DWI arrest?
If your breath test showed .08 or higher, the judge will generally suspend your license at arraignment. You can ask for a hardship hearing, and if you can show that you have no other way to get to work, school, or medical care, the court can grant a limited license while the case is pending. Later, many drivers qualify for a conditional license through the Impaired Driver Program.
What happens if I refused the breath test on Staten Island?
A refusal leads to a separate DMV hearing. If the refusal is upheld, the license is revoked for at least one year and there is a $500 civil penalty, regardless of how the criminal case ends. The refusal can also be used as evidence at trial.
I live in New Jersey. What happens to my license?
A New York DWI affects your privilege to drive in New York, and New York reports the case to New Jersey, which may apply its own penalties. You need advice on both sides before resolving the case.
How much does a Staten Island DWI lawyer cost?
Jonathan Kaye charges a flat $1,500 legal fee for a misdemeanor DWI on Staten Island, arraignment to resolution, agreed in writing up front. Court fines, surcharges, DMV fees and program costs are set by the State and are separate.
Arrested near Staten Island?
Jonathan defends DWI cases in every borough and on Long Island, including cases that start on the Verrazzano and end in a Brooklyn court. Every one of his practice areas gets the same flat $1,500 fee for a misdemeanor DWI.