$5 million to be invested in Community Justice Center for youth and adults in Staten Island

Thanks to a $5 million investment, Staten Island will have the first Community Justice Center to help youth and adults affected by the justice system.

Mayor Eric Adams and Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks this week welcomed the significant investment that will go toward the construction of the Center, which is also supported by Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon.

The funding is part of the recently passed $112.4 billion fiscally responsible, balanced and timely budget for fiscal year 2025 that addresses the city’s affordability crisis head-on and invests in the future of the city and the working-class people who make New York the greatest city in the world.

This project builds on Mayor Adams’ commitment outlined in his “Community Safety Blueprint,” a roadmap that includes preventative solutions to combat gun violence across all five boroughs.

“I have long argued that public safety is the prerequisite for prosperity,” said Mayor Adams. “But to truly invest in public safety, we must focus on preventative solutions that offer our communities, particularly our youth, a positive and productive path to prosperity, and that is exactly what the Staten Island Community Justice Center will do.”

“I am excited to move forward with Staten Island’s first Community Justice Center; it has been a long time coming to our borough,” Councilwoman Hanks said of the project.

The Staten Island Community Justice Center, a project of the Center for Justice Innovation, will offer a variety of programs for youth and adults who have been impacted by their legal journey. This $5 million investment positions Staten Island for a dedicated, state-of-the-art space and expanded programming that will increase opportunities for youth at the former criminal courthouse on Targee Street in the Stapelton neighborhood of Staten Island.

Services and programming to be offered at the Center include individual counseling, group psychoeducational programming, youth leadership, mentoring programming, re-entry services, and youth workforce development training.

For justice-involved clients, the Staten Island Justice Center’s approach seeks to prevent the negative consequences that often accompany contact with the criminal legal system, while addressing clients’ needs to avoid future involvement with the system. Youth programming aims to provide participants with leadership development tools and connect them with opportunities that promote positive engagement with the community.