Midtown Community Court

Results

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has hailed the Midtown Community Court for helping to revive Times Square. The Midtown Community Court was also the subject of an independent evaluation by the National Center for State Courts. According to the National Center, Midtown's compliance rate of 75 percent for community service was the highest in the city. Offenders performing community service contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of labor to the community each year. In conjunction with aggressive law enforcement and economic development efforts, the Court has had an impact on neighborhood crime: prostitution arrests dropped 56 percent and illegal vending was down 24 percent.

There are currently dozens of cities around the world that have opened or plan to open community courts based on the model of the Midtown Community Court. The Court has received awards from the here.

Partners

The Court is operated as a public/private partnership among the Center for Court Innovation. During the Court'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.

The Founding of the Court

Before opening, the Midtown Community Court underwent an extensive renovation to ensure the space could dispense justice swiftly while promoting community collaboration.The Midtown Community Court was created in the early 1990s, a time of rising crime and disorder in New York City. Housed on a busy midtown side-street, the Court focuses on minor, non-violent offending, emphasizing alternatives to jail wherever possible. 

VIDEOS: Herb Sturz, who first broached the idea of the court, explains the role demonstration projects play in testing new ideas.

PODCASTS: Longtime staffer Jeff Hobbs recalls what conditions were like in the neighborhood when the Court opened.

NEWS: The New York Times, as well as other New York City daily newspapers, endorse the Midtown Community Court.

Coverage

Over the years, the Midtown Community Court has been the subject of many articles on justice reform:

Veterans Initiative Unveiled at Midtown Community Court, from DNAinfo, profiles the Midtown Community Court's new program to aid defendants who served in the military.

Penalty for Rule-Breaking Bicyclists: A Remedial Class, from The New York Times, on the Midtown Community Court's program promoting bicycling safety.

MoMA Exhibit Puts Spotlight on Women Arrested for Prostitution, from DNAinfo, on artwork made by clients of the Midtown Community Court on display at the Museum of Modern Art.

A Dignitary Examines Community Court, from The New York Times, covers a visit to the Midtown Community Court from Lord Chancellor, the highest-ranking judicial official in Britain.

Midtown Community Court on the Hunt for a Wall, from DNAinfo, profiles the Midtown Community Court's fatherhood program and its mural-painting project in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art.

Midtown Court Helps Ex-Criminals Become Better Dads, from DNAinfo, on how the Midtown Community Court helps fathers with criminal histories.

Midtown Community Court Helps Teen Prostitute Escape 'the Life', from The Crime Report, about how the Midtown Community Court, is starting to recognize that many underage sex workers are victims of exploitation.

In New York City, a ‘Community Court’ and a New Legal Culture, published in 1996 by the U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice, describes the Midtown Community Court, the nation's first community court.

Community Courts Across the Globe: A Survey of Goals, Performance Measures, and Operations, describes the international community court movement. 

Clear Channel promotes the work of the Midtown Community Court with a slideshow in Times Square.