Engaging Communities News Archive

Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has been appointed to chair the Women’s Justice Commision by the Council on Criminal Justice. The commission, which aims to address the unique challenges women face in the criminal justice system, marked its launch in July with a visit to our Brownsville Community Justice Center. Lynch and 15 other leaders serving on the commission toured the Justice Center and heard a presentation on our Brooklyn programs, which align with their commitment to reducing the flow of women into the justice system in the wake of rising incarceration rates.

Community members and local leaders gathered to celebrate breaking new ground on the first-ever dog park set to be built on a NYCHA campus. More than 800 residents of the Castle Hill Houses in the Bronx voted on the investment, which will include the dog park, a new barbecue area, and increased access to green space for the development. The project is led by Green Space Connections, a collaboration between NYCHA residents, our Neighborhood Safety Initiatives team, the Public Housing Community Fund, and Design Trust for Public Space. It is expected to be completed in Spring 2025. "What really draws me to this project is the resident engagement that brought it, the fact that we are really listening to our residents and producing something that you chose for yourself," NYCHA's Eva Trimble told Bronx Times.

Our new illustrated guide walks New Yorkers living in public housing through what they need to stay safely, affordably housed.

The Inside Literary Prize, the first U.S. book award to be judged entirely by incarcerated people, will soon make its debut onto the national stage after months of reading and discussion by participants. “To choose an award is important for saying you’re part of the community, part of society. So much about being incarcerated says you’re not,” says Reginald Dwayne Betts, founder of Freedom Reads, which is supporting the award alongside the Center for Justice Innovation, the National Book Foundation, and bookstore owner Lori Feathers. In this issue of Poets&Writers, Betts and others expand on the humanizing impact of this literary experience on people serving time in prison.

With support from Richmond County District Attorney Michael E. McMahon and NYC Council Member Kamillah Hanks, the Center announced several new youth programs coming to its Staten Island Justice Center. Ranging from restorative justice to placekeeping to entrepreneurship programming, these initiatives will create lasting safety by investing in young people’s passions and neighborhoods. “In addition to directly engaging more community members, this project will pave the way for enhanced collaboration with other community organizations,” said Sonila Kada, the director of Staten Island Justice Center.

On a busy street just off Fordham Road in the Bronx sits the most visited library in all of New York City, the Bronx Library Center. Here residents, artists, social service providers, and our own Bronx Community Solutions team gathered to celebrate Juneteenth with art, performance, and a resource fair.

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.”

Strong communities are safe communities. What would change if all of our policies—inside and outside of the legal system—reflected that basic truth?