Youth Justice Center Planned for Brownsville

A nonprofit that offers services and help for young offenders in Brownsville came one step closer to creating a brick and mortar community center with a public hearing at the City Planning Commission last week. The Brownsville Community Justice Center plans to renovate an old city-owned building at 444 Thomas S. Boyland Street to host a court and a variety of nonprofits and city agencies that can help youth affected by the criminal justice system.

Borough President Eric Adams approved the plan, but only on the condition that the site’s 133,000 square feet of unused development rights be used to build affordable housing on the site, Crain’s reported Friday.

That’s enough square footage for 130 apartments. But the mayor’s office told Adams last month that while it was open to putting housing at the site, there were no plans or funding in the pipeline for a project.

The court will hear misdemeanor cases and summonses from the local 73rd precinct, according to justice center director James Brodick. He hopes that the building’s renovation will attract city agencies and nonprofits “who can handle whatever issues people might bring.” The facility will offer quality of life classes (to educate people on why something is the law), the Brownsville Youth Court, social workers, educational and vocational staff.

“We want to prevent crime before it happens,” Brodick told us. “When people are re-entering the community after serving time, we want to reconnect people so they don’t turn to another life within the justice system, so they don’t get re-arrested in the future.”

Photo by Kate Leonova for PropertyShark