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Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani joined Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye, Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman, Criminal Justice Coordinator Steven Fishner and Queens Borough President Claire Shulman today in a cornerstone laying ceremony for the new Queens Family Courthouse. The new, state-of-the-art courthouse houses eighteen courtrooms, seven hearing rooms and judges chambers, as well as office space for agencies that frequently interact with the Queens Family Court, including the New York City Administration for Children's Services, the Department of Probation and the Law Department. Ground was broken for the courthouse on June 16, 1999
"This is a very exciting day as we lay the cornerstone of what will be another landmark development for Jamaica, and a key element of New York City's Court Facilities Capitol Plan," said Mayor Giuliani. "This will be the first new Family Courthouse in Queens in more than 30 years. The existing family courthouse, which this building will replace, was built as a library and converted to a courthouse in the 1960s. Needless to say, this is a much needed facility."
"But this building will do much more than simply meet the logistical needs of the family court. Like all the other projects that make up the city's court master plan, it is designed to ensure that court proceedings occur in the most dignified surroundings," continued the Mayor.
"This new courthouse, with its innovative design, will serve many of the needs of families in crisis," said Borough President Shulman. "In addition to new courtrooms, it includes specialized facilities for supervised visitation, day care, space for critical social services, and words from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall that will hopefully inspire all those who enter its doors."
"This new chapter in the history of the Queens Family Court will also enhance the economic vitality of the community of Jamaica and reaffirm our commitment to this neighborhood," continued the Borough President.
"Nowhere are dignified, spacious, and well-maintained facilities more important than in the court where children and their families come to seek help and justice," said Chief Judge Kaye. "For over thirty years, the Queens Family Court has been housed in a converted public library, with small crowded courtrooms, cramped waiting rooms, and insufficient space for clients and their attorneys to confer. When this new courthouse opens next year, the children and families of Queens will finally have the courthouse that they deserve and that reflects the importance of the business of this court."
"This is another milestone for court facilities renewal in New York City," said Chief Administrative Judge Lippman. "Over the past seven years, the partnership between the court system and the City of New York has resulted in real progress in reversing decades of neglect of our courthouses. We are very pleased with the cooperative relationship between the court system and the City of New York, and we are grateful to Mayor Giuliani for his commitment to the New York City courts capital program."
The new building, designed and constructed under the auspices of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), will be approximately 300,000 square feet, and will be located on Jamaica Avenue at 153rd Street. The City of New York provided $96 million in funds for the project, which was also financed through bonds issued by DASNY with an interest aid subsidy provided by the State of New York.
This project is one courthouse constructed, or renovated as planned under the City's Court Facilities Capitol Plan, a $2.5 billion program which will include new family courts in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, as well as extensive renovation of Manhattan Family Court. The plan also calls for the construction of numerous new courthouses Citywide and the renovation of many others.
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