Midtown Community Justice Center

Midtown Community Justice Center staff group photo

The award-winning Midtown Community Justice Center (formerly Midtown Community Court) is one of the country’s first problem-solving courts.

Launched in 1993, its goal is to reduce crime and incarceration and increase public trust in justice. The Midtown Community Justice Center works along the criminal justice system continuum to constructively address harm through alternatives to incarceration, diversion from Criminal and Family Court, street outreach for unhoused individuals, and community engagement initiatives. The justice center collaborates with the judiciary, defense agencies, and the district attorney’s office to respond creatively to low-level crime with a supportive, holistic approach that addresses vulnerable community members’ needs and reduce harm to victims, defendants, and communities. Midtown Community Justice Center staff provide client-centered, trauma-informed case management, group and individual counseling, and also help connect people in need to voluntary services and lead events and initiatives to promote community wellness.

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314 West 54th Street
New York, NY 10019
United States

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Highlights

  • Project Reset

    Project Reset diverts people out of the justice system with a proportionate, restorative, and effective response to low-level arrests. 

Our Impact

  • 9,627 cases handled at the Justice Center in 2018

  • $1.2M estimated annual savings to the justice system primarily due to the reduced use of jail

  • 1M+ Defendants have performed more than 1 million hours of community service since the Justice Center's founding

Corey Johnson
When I visited Midtown Community Justice Center, I was really amazed by the programs and the excellent results. People were given real assistance that helped divert them from the criminal justice system, which is exactly what we want.
Corey Johnson Former New York City Council Speaker

Photo Gallery

MCJC staff
Twenty-Five Years Young

Midtown Community Justice Center staff, including Judge Charlotte Davidson (far right), gather outside the courthouse as part of the festivities marking the Court's first quarter-century of operations.

Police Community Midtown Community Justice Center James Baldwin School
Bringing Police and Community Together

The Midtown Community Justice Center hosts a police-community forum at James Baldwin School.

National Night Out Against Crime, Midtown staff talking to community residents
National Night Out Against Crime

Midtown Community Justice Center staff answer community members' questions during National Night Out Against Crime.

Publications & Digital Media

  • Video

    Changemakers in Action: Kristina Singleton

    Kristina Singleton works on diverting people from court into supportive or educational programming. Among the programs she works with at the Midtown Community Court are Project Reset, which offers those charged with a low-level crime the chance to avoid court and a criminal record by completing community-based programming, and a recently launched youth gun-diversion program for young people who have been arrested on gun possession charges.

    Community Justice, Diversion, Problem-Solving Justice, Workforce Development

  • Publication

    Fact Sheet: Community First

    Community First engages community members in need who frequent the Times Square area and who come through Midtown Community Justice Center’s court and diversion programming. These individuals may be experiencing homelessness and/or need mental health or harm reduction services, benefits connections, medical treatment, or other support. A team of Community Navigators act as peer mobile case managers to address the varied needs of people in our community using a client-centered lens.

  • Publication

    Fact Sheet: Manhattan Misdemeanor Mental Health Court

    The Manhattan Misdemeanor Mental Health Court helps people with mental health issues and co-occurring disorders engage meaningfully in social services that seek to reduce their involvement in the justice system. Launched in March 2022, our team works with participants to craft meaningful and individualized responses to the myriad intersectional issues that people living with serious mental illness face. Simultaneously the team addresses treatment needs while considering the quality of life and public safety concerns of the community.

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News

  • The Human Costs of Fines and Fees

    Fines and fees add to the burden on people navigating the justice system, making it harder to get back on their feet. There’s a better path to safety.

  • Opinion: We’ll Never Address NYC’s Mental Health Crisis Until We Stop Funneling People to Jails & Prisons

    January 21, 2025
    City Limits

    After years of struggling with a cycle of mental health crises and criminal justice involvement, Ibrahim Ayu—a community activist, attorney, and author—graduated from our Manhattan Misdemeanor Mental Health Court program with a stable job, supportive housing, and robust mental health care. Mental health courts provide a pathway out of the justice system while addressing the underlying needs that brought people into it. In this op-ed for City Limits, Ayu shares his story and makes a case for expanding these vital programs across New York. “Far more people should be getting the genuine care and treatment that I got,” he writes.

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Partners

The Justice Center is operated as a public/private partnership among the New York State Unified Court System, the City of New York and the Center for Justice Innovation. During the Justice Center's pilot period, funding came from a mix of sources, including the federal government, local government and dozens of foundations and corporations. Social service and community service partners include dozens of community-based and government agencies.

Related Areas of Focus

We rely on the generosity of supporters to do the work we do.

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