Alternative justice basketball program returns to Queens prison
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The latest Flames game at Queensboro Correctional Facility saw a visit from Queens Supreme Court, Criminal Term Administrative Judge Donna-Marie Golia, Queensboro Superintendent Linda Carrington-Allen and Flames founder Gerard J. Papa. Photo via DOCCS
By Jacob Kaye
For the second year in a row, a unique initiative that looks to steer teens away from the criminal justice system and help rehabilitate those already in it took a trip to Queensboro Correctional Facility in Long Island City.
Flames, a pro bono program that operates in New York State prisons, recently made a trip to the Long Island City correctional facility – one of only two Department of Corrections and Community Supervision facilities located within the five boroughs.
The program sees a group of teens play basketball against a group of incarcerated New Yorkers.
Here’s how it works – a group of teens, who willingly participate in the program, make their way to correctional facilities throughout the state to play a game of hoops against a group of incarcerated men. Incarcerated individuals serve as the referees and as the table crew. After the game is over, the two teams get together for a conversation about decision making.
The trip to Queensboro Correctional Facility was the final trip the teens with Flames will make for the year. The game also marked the second time the program came to Queens – last year was the first.
The game at Queensboro Correctional Facility was special for another reason, as well – for the first time in the program’s 50-year history, the game marked the first time the group of teens, who are often overmatched by the adults they play against, won in a DOCCS facility.
But the final score at Flames games are often secondary to the effect the games are intended to have on both the teens and the incarcerated New Yorkers participating in them.
Flames was first founded around 1974 by Columbia Law School graduate Gerard Papa, who continues to run the program today.
By Papa’s count, over 20,000 New York City kids between the ages of 8 and 20 have participated in the program over the years.
Their first game in a DOCCS facility came over 30 years ago, when the Flames team squared up against a team of incarcerated individuals serving time at Eastern New York Correctional facility, a maximum-security facility in Ulster County.
The program ran for a number of years inside New York State prisons before the partnership with DOCCS came to a halt. It was reestablished in 2019 and continues strong in 2024.
“I am pleased with our positive partnership with the Flames basketball team,” said DOCCS Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III.
“The value of the games played in our facilities is reinforced by the upbeat feedback from both staff and the incarcerated population,” he added. “I look forward to continuing to work with the Flames in the future.”
The program has also drawn support from the state’s court system.
“I’m immensely proud of our Unified Court System’s ongoing support of the Flames longstanding alternative justice mission,” said Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas. “The judiciary’s interest in this work reflects more than an appreciation of good basketball, but the promise of people on all sides of the criminal justice landscape achieving deeper levels of understanding together.”
“On and off the court, those with vastly different experiences — young and middle-aged; incarcerated and at liberty — can see and hear one another in ways that enlighten their view of our common humanity and strengthen their sense of community,” Zayas added. “These athletic events, and the meaningful conversations that take place afterward, offer everyone involved — the players, our judges, law enforcement officials, and others — an empowering opportunity to learn and to grow and identify the commonalities that serve to strengthen our justice system and our civic bonds.”
The program fits into the court system’s broader attempts to foster programs in line with its Justice Initiatives work.
“In pursuing its mission, the Flames program helps people from all walks of life make the kind of connections that underscore the core values of our Unified Court System — achieving equal justice under the law, advancing civic engagement, and prioritizing the common good of community cohesion,” said Edwina Richardson, the deputy chief administrative judge for Justice Initiatives.
Richardson attended the first Flames game at Queensboro in 2023, calling the visit a “true privilege and an experience that led to my serving as the facility’s Women’s History Month keynote speaker this past March.”
“With its enduring legacy, I’m proud to say this program continues to provide inspiration for what we can achieve when we decide to pull together in the same direction,” the judge added.
In attendance this year was now-former Queens Supreme Court, Criminal Term Administrative Judge Donna-Marie E. Golia.
Golia said that unlike other sporting events, she was cheering for both teams.
“This was no ordinary basketball game,” Golia said. “There was a strong sense of connectiveness amongst and between us all. The basketball game is just the beginning – the opportunity for an open dialogue is what follows.”
“I am so very grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it and very much look forward to next year’s game when I hope to bring many of my colleagues with me,” she added.
