Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon joined New York Chief Judge Rowan Wilson and other elected officials to lead a tour of what will become Staten Island’s first-ever community justice center. Housed in a former courthouse, the Staten Island Community Justice Center will build on the Center for Justice Innovation’s existing programming in Staten Island to provide critical resources and off-ramps from the criminal justice system for residents, thanks to a $5 million investment announced by Mayor Eric Adams and Council Member Kamillah Hanks. “Quite simply, the arrival of a Staten Island Community Justice Center would transform public safety and justice in our borough,” said District Attorney McMahon.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Council Member Kamillah Hanks, and Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon have announced a $5 million investment toward building the first Staten Island Community Justice Center. With a focus on youth and mental health programming, the Community Justice Center will bring much-needed resources to residents while working “upstream” to reduce involvement in the criminal justice system. The investment is a crucial step toward bringing what Mayor Adams calls a “proven model that has already succeeded in achieving lasting success under the leadership of our partners at the Center for Justice Innovation” to Staten Island.
In Vital City’s special issue on New York City’s jails, Chidinma Ume, Senior Director of Community Justice at the Center, joins IntegrAssure’s Erin Pilnyak to share what it was like to be part of a citywide effort to reduce unnecessary case delays that leave people languishing in jail. Their conversation sheds light on how collaboration, data, and what Ume calls “a combination of patience and urgency” can help us safely reduce jail populations and ensure all people are treated with dignity as they navigate the legal system.
Residents of New York City’s public housing system are routinely forced to live without kitchen gas, electricity, and heat, sometimes for days or weeks on end. With support from the Red Hook Community Justice Center, some tenants of Brooklyn’s Red Hook Houses are seeking compensation—and a new bill sponsored by Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes proposes to reduce tenant rent during utility outages.
Our Neighbors in Action program received Brooklyn Org’s prestigious annual Spark Prize, which recognizes five nonprofits each year working to build racial and social justice in Brooklyn. The five winners of the award were honored at this year’s Spark Breakfast at the Brooklyn Museum. “We want to make Brooklyn a beacon for the world,” said Brooklyn Org president and CEO Dr. Jocelynne Rainey. “Not just in style, but in equity and justice.”
A policy win is a major step, but how do you make it work on the ground? Our Community Justice team has grappled firsthand with that question in Los Angeles, where they’ve helped transform what the legal system looks like for people with mental illness.
At this year's State of the Judiciary, Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson shared the podium with guest speakers who have seen firsthand what happens when courts treat people with care and compassion.
This name change to Midtown Community Justice Center reflects the institution's holistic and community-based approach to delivering justice to New Yorkers.
2023 marks the 30th anniversary of our Midtown Community Court, which started as an experiment in a new, more human approach to justice. Today, that approach hasn’t just survived: it has even outgrown the walls of the courthouse.
