Brooklyn legal community still trying to get its footing after Sandy
For the better part of this week, New Yorkers have been reeling from the aftermath of super-storm Sandy. Within the Brooklyn legal community, courts have been closed and cases have been delayed.
On Thursday, Nov. 1 the Civil, Housing and Small Claims courts in Brooklyn, as well as the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island, had reopened. The courts operated on a regular schedule except that there were no Evening Small Claims Court and no Evening Housing Court.
In Manhattan, the New York City Civil Court, located in Lower Manhattan in an area severely affected by Sandy, remained closed. In addition, the Red Hook Community Justice Center (RCJC), an unconventional court geared to solve neighborhood problems through an array of sanctions and restitution projects, also remains closed.
Tina Luongo, attorney in charge for the Legal Aid Society-Criminal Practice, told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, “Red Hook Community Court is closed because of sustained water damage and lack of electricity. We are working as quickly as possible to provide services to the Red Hook community.”