By Samuel Newhouse
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

ADAMS STREET — New renovations are on the way for Brooklyn Supreme Court this summer. Parts of the courthouse at 360 Adams St. that are currently unused will be redesigned to give judges, jurors and litigants a little more room to stretch out.

The $6 million planned renovation is tentatively scheduled for the end of August, said Supreme Court Director of Operations Ralph Palma, who is in charge of the project that will bring brand new courtrooms, jury rooms and judges’ chambers to the 50-year-old courthouse, which now houses the Brooklyn Supreme Court Civil Term, Surrogate’s Court and the County Clerk’s Office.

“We expect that it’s going to be very beneficial to the court,� said Hon. Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix, the Administrative Judge for Civil Matters.

Palma said that the renovation is going to be for parts of the court no longer in use, now that the Supreme Court Civil Term and Criminal Term no longer share the same building. The construction project will focus on two main areas — the space previously occupied by the grand jury on the second floor, which is currently vacant, and the holding pens on the ninth floor that were formerly used to detain defendants.

At the end of the project, the former grand jury area will be replaced with four new courtrooms, new offices, a new central compliance part, four new jury rooms and four new robing rooms for judges.

The holding cells on the 9th floor will be ripped out, and three new judges’ chambers will be built in that area.

The renovation, which is expected to take 14 months, will not only create space for new judges joining the Civil Term, but will also give courtroom space to the several judges who have been hearing civil matters in the Criminal Term on Jay Street, Palma said.

There will be a contemporary feel in the new areas, especially compared with the rest of the courthouse, Palma explained. New courtrooms will have conference rooms for litigants to speak with their attorneys, and the new design will also bring more natural light into the court.

“It’s definitely geared to be court-user friendly, or friendlier,� Palma said. “It’s just something that needed to happen.�

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