Queens Civil Court’s $8.3M facelift will keep plaza closed into 2028

Queens Civil Court is getting a renovated plaza with new benches and plantings. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

By Ryan Schwach

Queens Civil Court on Sutphin Boulevard is getting a massive facelift.

Green construction fences went up outside the Queens courthouse earlier this month around the civil court’s plaza as it undergoes an $8.3 million renovation.

Court visitors and court employees will be without the plaza outside Queens Civil at 89-17 Sutphin Blvd. for at least the next year and a half. The project is not expected to be completed until early 2028, according to the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which manages the courthouse.

“At DCAS, updating our buildings is at the heart of our facilities management work, and we're happy to announce that long-awaited upgrades are coming to the 89-17 Sutphin plaza,” the agency said in a statement.

When completed, the plaza – which has long served as a gathering spot for court users and employees to have lunch or take a break from court proceedings – will have improved drainage, waterproofing, granite pavers, planting areas and ADA-accessible benches, according to a work permit document outside the construction site. The project also aims to address water infiltration issues caused by water systems beneath the plaza.

The Department of Design and Construction is overseeing the project.

Funding for the overhaul came from DCAS’ capital budget. According to city records, the final budget is $12.8 million, $11.3 million of which has already been allocated.

The project is currently 103 days behind schedule.

Court employees the Eagle spoke to did not wish to comment officially on the lengthy makeover but said that they weren’t told much about the construction.

The project will require slight logistical changes. Jurors who arrive at the courthouse every morning will no longer line up in the plaza. They have instead been instructed to line up on the other side of the courthouse.

Despite receiving questions about the project from the Eagle nearly two weeks ago, the Office of Court Administration did not answer any questions about the construction, including how it may affect the day-to-day operations of the courthouse.

The Queens Civil Courthouse on Sutphin Boulevard is relatively new.

It was built in 1997 to allow the court to expand its operations after previously being run from Queens Borough Hall on Queens Boulevard, next door to the borough’s Criminal Court.

The $67.7 million courthouse was built on Sutphin adjacent to the Queens Supreme Courthouse directly next door, which had been there since the 1930s.

The plaza was designed to unify the two courthouses.

Construction began in 1994, and the courthouse officially opened in the summer of 1998.

"The Queens Civil Court deals with matters that directly affect people's lives and for many people coming here it will be their first introduction to the legal system,” then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani said at the court’s opening. “That is why it's so important that this courthouse provides people with the feeling that their court system is dignified and efficient.

"The spacious Queens Courthouse is a vast improvement from the cramped quarters of Borough Hall in Kew Gardens," Giuliani added. "The Civil Courthouse is a perfect complement to the Supreme Court Building right across the street and brings us one step closer to completing our plan to revitalize the area of downtown Jamaica and make it a thriving center of government, business and culture. This is a great day for the people of Queens and I look forward to working together with you to continue to make Jamaica one of the City's most dynamic and vibrant communities."

Then-Borough President Claire Shulman called its opening a “new chapter in the history of the court system in Queens County,”

“Its creation has resulted in an appropriate setting for the public and the judiciary to work together,” she said. “It is also one more step in our continual and combined efforts to secure the future of downtown Jamaica by renewing its place as a center of government, business, and culture.”

According to DCAS, two other construction projects are being managed by DDC at Queens Civil, including a fire alarm design and replacement project, and a roof repair project.