Community Justice News Archive

People living in New York City public housing who have requested to transfer apartments—typically due to severe repair needs, domestic violence, or other imminent safety issues—are currently left waiting upwards of years. Yet, there has been a 640% increase in vacant public housing units within the past year, pointing to a system-wide slowdown, says Ross Joy, director of housing and civil justice at our Red Hook Community Justice Center. Decades of underfunding has caused challenges throughout NYCHA (New York City Housing Authority), including unfilled staff positions that would help maintain and turnover units between tenants.

Nearly half of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) households are behind on rent, to the tune of $454 million, yet there is still no policy or funding solution in sight. Federal and state government-provided funding to help tenants pay rent during the pandemic placed people in subsidized housing, including NYCHA residents, last in line. In this Gotham Gazette op-ed, Center Executive Director Courtney Bryant calls for government relief, saying "We cannot abandon NYCHA tenants or the buildings they call home. In the short-term, we must provide immediate relief to the nearly 50% of households who have fallen behind on rent."

After presiding over the Red Hook Community Justice Center for 22 years, Judge Alex Calabrese celebrated his retirement from the courtroom on October 14. Judge Calabrese has been a "warm and upbeat presence in the courtroom" throughout his tenure, touching the lives of many Red Hook residents and serving as a model for justice reformers around the country. In celebration of Judge Calabrese's pioneering work with the Red Hook Community Justice Center, Mayor Eric Adams declared October 26, 2022 "The Honorable Judge Calabrese Day."

Most people who come to New York City housing court are low-income tenants facing eviction. With the largest public housing complex in Brooklyn falling in Red Hook Community Justice Center’s jurisdiction, one of its top priorities is to keep tenants in their homes. The court's model—addressing the root causes of what drives people to court and responding to local concerns, rather than simply enforcing the law—has proven its success and is an example of what justice could look like in housing courts throughout the city.

After over 25 years at the cutting edge of efforts to reform the justice system and cultivate safe and vibrant communities, the Center for Court Innovation has changed its name to the Center for Justice Innovation. This new name is intended to better reflect the entirety of the Center's work, which has for long been carried out not only within the court system but also well beyond it. This article from the New York Law Journal draws attention to the name change and discusses the Center's growth—both quantitative and qualitative—since its founding. As executive director Courtney Bryan told the Journal, "Our new name reflects our belief that true justice is a continuum that starts in the community long before anyone ends up in court."

The 2022 Community Justice International Summit provided perspectives from judges, prosecutors, defenders, social workers, treatment specialists, community members and others on collaborative strategies to address issues such as opioid abuse, inequities in justice system responses, and centering the voices of those with lived experience in the justice system.

Violence interruption is a community-based strategy to reduce gun violence and improve public safety in neighborhoods. Our anti-violence program Save Our Streets is profiled and named as a highly successful example of curbing gun violence in the South Bronx, reducing gun victimization by 63 percent in its initial years of implementation.

President of the Times Square Alliance, Tom Harris, talks about the area’s recovery and shares more about the partnership with our Midtown Town Community Court, Breaking Ground, and Fountain House to create the Community First program, which connects the unhoused populations of Times Square to local resources, including housing and mental health services.

Detailing some of the joys and challenges of violence interruption work, NBC News highlights Save Our Streets and interviews James Brodick, the Center for Court Innovation’s director of community development and crime prevention. He stresses the need for workforce development in communities, including violence interrupters, so they face less burn out or have ceilings on their professional trajectories.

Josiah Bates of TIME Magazine gives a window into the day-in-the-life of a violence interrupter while spending time with the Center for Court Innovation's Save Our Streets (S.O.S.) teams. Noting the complicated dynamics that are at play in their interactions with both the police and the communities they serve, Rahson Johnson, associate director of community safety at S.O.S. Crown Heights, and Joshua Simon, a violence interrupter with S.O.S. Bed-Stuy, are interviewed and reflect on how to bring resources to help heal the community.