Red Hook Justice - Your Community. Your Court.

Last Friday we held a graduation for our AmeriCorps members, the last class of the New York Juvenile Justice Corps . Over the past year, the members have served throughout the Center for Court Innovation's New York City projects at various positions within our courts and community programs. They served as a bridge to the communities we work in, and provided valuable support to our projects and various initiatives. The members will be missed and we wish them the best in all their future endeavors. Jessica Colon Deputy Project Director Standing Room Only at the Graduation Declan Walsh, Director of the John Jay College Office of Community Outreach, presents Al Siegal and Jessica Colon with a plaque in recognition of the Center for Court Innovation's partnership with the college. Members from the Brownsville Community Justice Center Receive their Certificates Members from the Crown Heights Mediation Center Receive their Certificates Staff and Mem...

...we'd rather say until later than good-bye. We just learned that one of our amazing court officers, Lt. Benny Castillo, is being transferred to another court. Lt. Castillo has worked at the Justice Center for 5 years. He was always a great leader, and always went beyond the call of duty to lend a helping to staff and residents. The Justice Center is also gearing up to send off Lt. Bobby Vitucci (more on that to come). You can read the article below to see what makes our court officers so special and important to the Justice Center. http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121220/red-hook/red-hook-court-officers-dole-out-hundreds-of-toys-kids   Lt. Benny Castillo Judge Calabrese thanks Lt. Castillo for his service

Are you a NYCHA tenant or assist NYCHA tenants and have questions about your rent, repairs and rights? The Red Hook Community Justice Center and the Center for Urban Pedagogy  have created a new easy-to-read guide to Housing Court for NYCHA tenants. You can request a copy by calling 718-923-8201. You can learn more about the project here and how to order copies: http://welcometocup.org/Projects/PublicAccessDesign/RentRightsAndRepairs

Are you interested in helping make your community better and resolve disputes? Please join us to learn about how you can be trained to resolve cases in the Native American tradition of Peacemaking at the Red Hook Community Justice Center. The Center's innovative Peacemaking Program is hosting an information session Thursday October 3, at 6:00pm at the Joseph A. Miccio Community Center in Red Hook at 110 West 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231 . Peacemaking is a traditional Native American approach to justice that focuses on healing and restoration rather than punishment. Although peacemaking varies across Native American tribes, it generally brings together the disputants, along with family members, friends, and other members of the community to speak about how the event, crime, or crisis affected each person. The goal of peacemaking is not only to resolve the immediate dispute, but also to heal the relationships among those involved and restore balance to the community. You ca...

 Lillian Marshall, Tenant Association President of Red Hook West (left) and Naureen Rashid, Director of Court Operations Dorothy Shields, Tenant Association President of Red Hook East (Left) and Naureen Rashid, Director of Court Operations  Hon. Alex Calabrese, Presiding Judge of the Red Hook Community Justice Center   Graphic Designer Jenny Kutnow  Clara Amenyo from the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP)  

. ..And this is much better than the movie. We kicked off the summer with our third annual Free Book Fair in front of the Red Hook Library. We were able to give away hundreds of books to encourage kids to keep reading during the summer months. A 12-year-old at the book fair said, “My mom is going to be upset that I brought all these books in the house but, I don’t care, I love to read!” New York Juvenile Justice Corps Member Shows a Young Reader a Book We celebrated another Youth Court graduation with Deputy Inspector Schiff from the 76 th precinct. The Red Hook Youth Court continues to be a model for other Youth Courts around the country and an important program for the community and the court. This year, 15 students participated in our Just Works Summer Internship Program , which aims to connect teens and young adults to professional development opportunities. Our interns, along with our Youth Court members also participated in a college trip to Hofstra a...

Yesterday, the Justice Center held a culminating exhibition, "Perspectives", featuring works from our PhotoVoice summer program. Eighteen young people from Red hook and surrounding communities were able to participate in PhotoVoice, a participatory photography program that teaches a documentary style of photography focused on issues related to their neighborhoods and self-exploration. The goals of this program are to empower participants, inform policy-makers, and raise awareness about issues facing these young people. PhotoVoice is funded by the New York City Center for Economic Opportunity . This project is a collaboration between the  Center for Court Innovation , the Brooklyn Arts Council and United Photo Industries . A PhotoVoice program was also done at the Brownsville Community Justice Center this summer. Participatory photography gives youth the opportunity to connect in a visual dialogue that often excludes them. This project employs professional photograph...

The Red Hook Community Justice Center is recruiting local teens 14-18 to be part of its autumn JustArts Photography Program. Participants receive a stipend and a camera. No previous experience is necessary. Students receive instruction from professional artists and photographers, develop a theme of photos related to social justice, and will have their work professionally exhibited. Click here for the application: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5UM0SgJJ5PdYVVkbjBiSS16N2s/edit?usp=drive_web You can learn more about the program here: http://redhookjusticenews.blogspot.com/2011/06/justarts-photography-project.html http://redhookjusticenews.blogspot.com/2013/09/perspectives-of-photography-and-justice.html

Calling all teens! You can serve your community, provide support to teens, learn about the law and the justice system, and receive a stipend. Teens, 14-18 years old that live in or go to school in Red Hook, Sunset Park, Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Gowanus, Boerum Hill, and Prospect Heights are encouraged to apply. Call 718-923-8260 for an application or click here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5UM0SgJJ5PdNWFzNEVoUUNOXzA/edit?usp=sharing You can learn more about youth court here: http://www.courtinnovation.org/project/youth-courts