Queens courts consolidate to cope with coronavirus

Supreme Court, Civil Term proceedings will temporarily move to the Queens Civil Court building as the state pares down court function amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Eagle photo by David Brand

By David Brand

Queens Supreme Court, Civil Term proceedings will move to the Queens Civil Court building next door beginning March 23, as the state halts new filings, suspends most court functions and moves others to video conferencing.  

Supreme Court operations will take place in Civil Court courtroom 301, court officials said Monday. The move to the Civil Court building comes a week after a Queens Supreme Court justice presiding in the Civil Term courthouse tested positive for COVID-19. At least one other judge has been tested and is awaiting results.

An administrative order from Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks prevents county clerks or courts from accepting new filings — paper or electronic — except for “essential” matters.

The issues considered essential include Mental Hygiene Law applications and hearings addressing patient retention or release; hearings addressing the involuntary administration of medication and other medical care; temporary orders of protection, including matters of  domestic violence; and emergency applications related to the coronavirus.

Those applications will be heard by an “emergency judge” sitting in Queens Civil Court, Courtroom 301. 

The Queens County Clerk’s Office will also relocate to the Civil Court building, setting up shop in Room 244.