The Center for Justice Innovation—and our operating programs—are regularly featured in the media. Here is a sampling of the press coverage of our work.
Amid growing concerns about the decline in civic engagement, institutions and spaces that revitalize community and make room for collective problem-solving are more important than ever. A powerful example, writes Chief Judge Rowan Wilson, can be seen in community justice centers across New York, operated by the Center for Justice Innovation in partnership with the Unified Court System. In this piece for the New York Law Journal, Judge Wilson looks at the history and future of this innovative model, which brings courts and communities together to address neighborhood challenges and improve well-being for residents inside and outside the justice system.
Staten Island’s first-ever community justice center is set to open on the grounds of a former courthouse, bringing an innovative model that the Center for Justice Innovation has implemented across the city to a new borough. Each community justice center reflects the unique needs of the community. The new justice center in Staten Island would provide services and positive activities for youth, people involved in the justice system, and the borough as a whole. Senior Director of Court Reform Kelly Mulligan shares details on what’s in store at the upcoming community justice center.
Resolving criminal cases swiftly and effectively is essential for both safety and fairness. A new set of reforms that the Center helped shape, will help address chronic delays in processing felony cases across New York City’s criminal courts. Launching in Brooklyn under Judge Matthew D’Emic, the new measures will streamline the discovery process, where defense attorneys and prosecutors share evidence needed to move cases forward.
New York’s court system has announced a sweeping set of reforms to ensure felony cases are resolved swiftly, effectively, and with care for everyone involved. The measures, which the Center helped to develop, aim to tackle systemic delays that leave people languishing in jail as part of a collaborative effort to fulfill the city’s commitment to closing Rikers Island. “Victims, defendants, and the public deserve a criminal justice system that proceeds swiftly, intelligently, and compassionately,” said Chief Judge Rowan Wilson.
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.
The Women's Justice Commission, chaired by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, is a new nationwide initiative that will bring awareness to the unique issues women face in the criminal justice system. Formed by the Council on Criminal Justice, the Commission brings together a group of dedicated leaders from different sectors, including our Executive Director Courtney Bryan, to identify evidence-based solutions. In the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, read about the Commission's visit to our Brownsville Community Justice Center, where they learned about our team's efforts to prevent harm and bring support to women and families impacted by the justice system.
The Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice and Institute for State and Local Governance at the City University of New York have announced a $16.5M investment in restorative justice programs throughout the city, with $6.5M going to community-based programs including our Midtown Community Justice Center. Restorative justice responds to harm by facilitating dialogue between the people involved, fostering understanding and healing instead of punishment. Our Midtown Community Justice Center will use the investment to expand its new Youth PACT (Positively Advancing in Community Together) program, which offers teenagers arrested for weapons possession a supportive pathway out of the legal system.
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.
Staten Island will receive its first-ever community justice center on the grounds of a former courthouse thanks to a $5 million investment in the city budget. The Staten Island Community Justice Center will be a hub for mental health support, career services, and youth programming in the borough. In this round-up of New York news, Crain's highlights this crucial investment in community-based alternatives to criminal justice involvement, which will help expand the Center’s programming in Staten Island.
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.
