Skip to main content

Another Red Hook Summer

...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 76th 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 and St. John’s University.
 
Interns at Hofstra University
 
We continued our successful JustArts programming over the summer for teens and young adults and celebrated with two exhibitions. Our JustArts drawing program “Make Your Mark” hosted an end of season exhibit at our partner’s gallery space, the Kentler International Drawing Space. This summer we ran a brand new photography program called PhotoVoice, in partnership with the Brooklyn Arts Council, the Brownsville Community Justice Center, and funded by NYC CEO. The students’ works were exhibited at the Justice Center and will be exhibited as part of a public art project called Photoville in Brooklyn Bridge Park this September.

PhotoVoice Participants at the Red Hook Perspectives Exhibit

As we continue to expand community service to clean up our neighborhood, our Neighborhood Restitution Crew assisted Visitation Church in Red Hook with services including weed whacking, power washing, trash removal and painting this July.
 
The Neighborhood Restitution Crew at Visitation Church


And we capped off the summer with another successful National Night Out Against Crime. Hundreds of Red Hook neighbors came out to celebrate the 19th annual National Night Out in Coffey Park. Every year, along with the 76th precinct, we host this event to strengthen partnerships that make Red Hook a safe and thriving community. There was plenty to celebrate as Red Hook is experiencing record low crime levels. Volunteers from the New York Juvenile Justice Corps, Red Hook Youth Court, and the NYPD Youth Explorers program helped make this year our most successful to date.

Neighbors Enjoy National Night Out in Coffey Park

~Jessica

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rent, Repairs, and Rights: A Guide to Housing Court for NYCHA Tenants

 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)  
66 comments
Read more

Supporting the Staten Island Youth Justice Center at "Inside/Outside Legislative Theatre" Performance

On June 4th, a group of the Red Hook Youth Court members and staff went to see the "Theater of the Oppressed NYC" performance at the New School. Before attending this event, the youth court members had no idea that anything like this went on! While there, we learned that 12 different legislative laws were changed through something called "Legislative Theatre." The audience members get to be "spect-actors," which is great because the actual audience members got to participate in the play themselves and share their ideas. The performances last night were put on by members of the Staten Island Youth Justice Center (part of the Center for Court Innovation Family). These two plays dealt with real life issues such as getting stopped for not paying your bus fare, arriving late to school and getting sent to the principal's office because of the "zero tolerance policy," getting into fights at school, not knowing one's rights, and being raciall...
100 comments
Read more

Thank You AmeriCorps Members

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...
46 comments
Read more