Some local elected officials are calling for the creation of a community court in the Rockaways.
Supporters rallied on Tuesday in support of the proposal.
Community courts take on smaller misdemeanor cases, and advocates say they help to keep residents out of the criminal court system. It provides judges with a range of sentencing options including drug treatment, community service, job training, family services, and mental health care.
Currently there is only a youth court operating out of the teen library in Far Rockaway, but officials are seeking $950,000 in city funding to open a community court on the peninsula.
“Incarcerating people is not the way to rehabilitate them,” said City Councilman Donovan Richards. “Some people lack services.”
“The Rockaways has a concentration of low-level petty offenses and also a need for civil legal services,” said City Councilman Rory Lancman. “If we put programing here and we put a… community court here, we can really have a big impact here.”
Elected officials are hoping to get some of the programs up and running by the fall.