Celebrating 13 Years of the Red Hook Community Justice Center

The Red Hook Community Justice Center reopened in record time after Hurricane Sandy

Here's to 13 more amazing years in Red Hook!

The staff of the Red Hook Community Justice Center gathered this afternoon for a luncheon in celebration of 13 years of problem-solving justice in southwest Brooklyn, and in honor of the extraordinary efforts of the Office of Court Administration and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to restore and reopen the building after Hurricane Sandy.

We honored Lieutenant Robert "Bobby" Vitucci with the Above & Beyond Award for his exemplary leadership and tireless dedication to the Red Hook Community Justice Center in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. In accepting the award, Lieutenant Vitucci emphasized that the 16+ agencies that inhabit the Justice Center "work together as one family, always."

Presiding Judge, Hon. Alex Calabrese, reflected on the wide-ranging influence that the Justice Center has nationally and internationally, citing the 200+ site visits we host each year -- in May alone, the Justice Center will welcome visitors from NYU Law School's U.S. Asia Law Institute, John Jay College, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Bulgaria, and Israel.

Judge Calabrese also acknowledged the incredible work of the Justice Center's staff, highlighting the efforts of Jackie Soto and Stephanie Lovett (the dynamic duo of the Alternative Sanctions Office).

And, of course, no anniversary celebration would be complete without food.

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But even as we pause to reflect on the Red Hook Community Justice Center's first 13 years, and the important role it has and continues to play in Red Hook's storied turnaround...

Red Hook featured in Life Magazine, July of 1988

Covering the 1992 murder of Red Hook's elementary school principal, Patrick Daley, the New York Times wrote: "In a neighborhood that saw 20 murders, 10 rapes, 526 robberies and 364 assaults last year, the sound of gunfire was not extraordinary."

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in 2000

...I believe the best is yet to come!

"Transform"

Happy Birthday,

Julian

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