Rockaway Community Justice Center offers a second chance for low-level offenders

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The Rockaway Community Justice Center, which opened in May, will host an alternative court. Photo via Queens Defenders

The Rockaway Community Justice Center, which opened in May, will host an alternative court. Photo via Queens Defenders

By Rachel Vick

A Queens public defender group is partnering with the Queens District Attorney’s Office to run a diversion program for defendants charged with low-level offenses out of the Rockaway Community Justice Center.

The intervention program serves as an “innovative” alternative to traditional court proceedings for defendants between the ages of 18 and 24, said Queens Defenders Executive Director Lori Zeno.

“The Rockaway Community Justice Center will offer residents a chance to end the cycle of criminal justice involvement at a crucial early stage, develop skills and social capital and begin a new path toward a fulfilling and productive life,” Zeno said.  

Church leaders, neighborhood organizations and business leaders will run the court-structured program for young people accused of misdemeanors, who will have their cases reviewed by a panel of their peers.

The goal is to address the needs of the accused and the victims using restorative justice strategies, Zeno said. The program also promotes a sense of civic responsibility through community engagement, while saving participants from a long, potentially disruptive, trip to the Kew Gardens courthouse.

Once a defendant completes the program, the Queens DA’s Office will dismiss or decline to prosecute their case. The court will seal the charges and they will not become part of the defendant’s record.

“This diversion program can make a big difference for people charged with low-level offenses,” said Queens DA Melinda Katz. “Successfully completing the program provides great opportunity for individuals to turn things around and be given a clean a clean slate.”

Far Rockaway Councilmember Donovan Richards, chair of the Public Safety Committee, praised the initiative.

“A low-level offense should not equal a life sentence for our young people,” Richards said. “Unfortunately that’s what’s happened too often in communities of color in the Rockaways, with young people locked out of employment, housing, job opportunities.”