Community Justice Centers offer an innovative model for how we can “invest in institutions and spaces that reanimate community life.”
In a recent article for the New York Law Journal, Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals Rowan D. Wilson looks at how Community Justice Centers can foster a sense of community and civic engagement while meeting residents’ needs in uncertain times.
At the Center, we partner with the court system to operate Community Justice Centers in neighborhoods across New York—safe spaces where residents can get help for needs like employment and housing, join community efforts to build safety and transform public spaces, and find supportive pathways out of the justice system for those who have been charged with a crime.
Judge Wilson walks us through the history of this innovative model, which began in 1993 when we helped launch the Midtown Community Court (now the Midtown Community Justice Center). The justice center offered compassionate alternatives to fines and jail time for people charged with quality-of-life offenses like shoplifting and vandalism, connecting them to social services including job support and mental health treatment. Neighborhood residents could also join community boards to meet with judges, attorneys, and people involved in the justice system, opening doors for people to voice their concerns and explore solutions that work for everyone.
Since then, we’ve worked to bring this model—rooted in partnership between courts, communities, service providers, local businesses, and everyone in between—to other neighborhoods across New York grappling with problems like housing insecurity, gun violence, and cycles of crime and incarceration.
Amid growing concerns about the decline of community cohesion and civic engagement, Judge Wilson writes, we must “invest in institutions and spaces that reanimate community life.” Community Justice Centers offer a powerful example of how we can make those investments for the most vulnerable communities in New York and beyond.