For the Media

These Public Housing Pathways Are Made From Wine Corks

The New York Times

A community-led design project at the Marlboro Houses in Gravesend, Brooklyn, culminated in renovated play areas and community spaces made of more than 450,000 recycled wine corks. The project was part of a $3.2 million investment in new public spaces designed by and for NYCHA residents across four housing developments, with support from the Center, the Public Housing Community Fund, and other nonprofits and design firms.

Gravesend’s Marlboro Houses unveils eco-friendly park built with 450,000 recycled wine corks

Brooklyn Paper

A neglected open space on Brooklyn's Marlboro Houses campus is now an eco-friendly playground and community gathering place for kids and residents of the NYCHA development. The project was one of many across the city organized by the Green Space Connections program, a collaborative initiative to invest in community-led efforts to revitalize local public spaces.

Brooklyn NYCHA complex unveils city’s first-ever playground made from 450K wine and champagne corks

New York Post

Children from Brooklyn's Marlboro Houses shaped the vision for a new playground made from thousands of recycled wine corks as part of Green Space Connections—a community-led design program supported by the Center, the Public Housing Community Fund, NYCHA, the Urban Conga, and others. The materials were specifically chosen to create a safer, more comfortable environment during hot summer temperatures than playgrounds made using plastic.

Opinion | Euphemism Won’t Save Young Black Men’s Lives

The New York Times

A disproportionate number of people killed by guns in the U.S. are Black. Yet simply changing the way we talk about shootings won't stop the toll this violence takes on our communities, and especially on young Black men, argues John McWhorter. In his opinion piece for the New York Times, McWhorter calls instead for more investment in initiatives like our Save Our Streets program, which prevents shootings by sending trusted violence interrupters into the community to defuse conflicts before they escalate.

Roosevelt Houses Opens Redesigned Outdoor Spaces

BK Reader

More than 600 residents of the Roosevelt Houses in Brooklyn helped shape two new community spaces for their development with renovated seating, play areas, a community garden, and more. The project is part of Green Space Connections, a collaboration between the Center, the Public Housing Community Fund, NYCHA, and other organizations to invest in community-led public spaces.

Four Successful Tactics for Criminal Defense Attorneys Representing Traumatized Clients

New York Law Journal

This article offers four trauma-informed strategies for criminal defense attorneys to better support clients with trauma histories, emphasizing safety, understanding memory, transparent communication, and client empowerment to improve case outcomes.

Free driving lessons for Latinos in need ‘life-changing’

Spectrum News NY1

The Driving Toward Equity program addresses barriers in transportation access and job opportunities by bringing free driving lessons to the Latino community in Syracuse, New York. A partnership between the Center and the CNY Community Foundation, the program has helped more than 30 people get their driver's licenses with lessons available in both English and Spanish.

Advocates push overhaul for ‘Wild West’ NYC pedicab industry, enforcement shift from NYPD

Gothamist

A new report by the Center lays out concrete recommendations for reforming New York City’s pedicab industry, which has generated hundreds of complaints and thousands of court cases each year related to overcharging and unlicensed vehicles. Danielle Mindess of our Midtown Community Justice Center spoke to Gothamist about the challenges plaguing the industry and opportunities for meaningful change.

Pedicab “Fix” Plan Targets Price Gouging and Midtown Chaos

W42ST

As problems pile up with New York City’s pedicab industry, from pricing fraud to loud music and unlicensed vehicles, the justice system has struggled to respond effectively. Our new report aims to change that, proposing a set of recommendations to ensure a safer, more sustainable system for drivers, customers, and the Midtown community.

Avoiding Evictions: How State and Local Policy Can Keep Tenants in Their Homes

Shelterforce

Amid soaring rents and weakening protections for tenants, state and local governments have a critical role to play in preventing evictions. Shelterforce explores promising local initiatives working to keep families safely housed, from right-to-counsel programs for tenants to our housing resource centers in Red Hook and Harlem. “We’re providing wraparound services but in a very person-centered, holistic kind of way,” says Jessica Yager, our Senior Director of Housing Justice Initiatives.

The ‘fairy godmother of housing court’: Meet the advocates troubleshooting the voucher system in Brooklyn Housing Court

amNY

In Brooklyn’s Housing Court, the Eviction Diversion Initiative helps tenants avoid evictions due to administrative errors with their housing subsidies. As the program expands to reach housing courts in seven locations across New York, its Brooklyn office bridges gaps between a patchwork of agencies that often leave tenants struggling to secure stable housing. As Priscila Auffant of our Eviction Diversion Initiative team told amNY, “EDI has kind of been the fairy godmother in housing court.”

Courts, advocates to start new program seeking to blunt Syracuse’s sharp eviction rate

Central Current

A new program in Syracuse will help tenants stay safely housed by preventing evictions and increasing access to legal services and supportive resources. The Eviction Diversion Initiative—first launched in Brooklyn and Suffolk County by the Center for Justice Innovation and New York State Unified Court System—is now expanding to reach tenants in Syracuse, Rochester, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. “We help them in what is, for a lot of people, a crisis—a moment of vulnerability,” said Viviana Gordon, Director of Housing Justice Initiatives at the Center.

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