NYC Justice Corps
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- Who We Are
History
- Corps Highlights
- History
- Project Partners
- Investing for Effectiveness
- Funding Sources
- Press and Publications
Jeremy Travis President, John Jay College of Criminal JusticeI think that we have designed an initiative that has the potential to influence the direction of community-based justice strategies for a long time to come.
In May 2006, Mayor Michael Bloomberg convened the Commission on Economic Opportunity to address poverty issues in New York City. The Center for Economic Opportunity developed out of the Commission and is responsible for overseeing, funding and implementing the Commission’s recommendations. Among the recommendations made by the Commission was the development of the NYC Justice Corps. Jeremy Travis, President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a member of the Commission, and Martin Horn, former Commissioner of the New York City Departments of Correction and Probation, spearheaded the design of the Justice Corps. The College and the Departments of Correction and Probation currently provide policy guidance and oversight to the Justice Corps.
The NYC Justice Corps brings together model practices from workforce development, reentry and service learning programs. Building on a central principle of the national Civic Justice Corps model, which partners community groups, justice agencies and employers to invest in the development and self-sufficiency of court-involved young adults, the Justice Corps empowers cohorts of young adults to be change agents in their personal lives and throughout the broader community.
The South Bronx and Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, both areas with high rates of incarceration and poverty, are the initial target areas of the NYC Justice Corps. The Justice Corps launched in September 2008 in Brooklyn under the management of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation and in October 2008 as part of Phipps Community Development Corporation in the South Bronx. The Center for Employment Opportunities provides technical assistance and capacity building support to the two sites.
In partnership with the Pratt Center for Community Development, Corps members engaged in graffiti removal at seven locations, community garden renovation, and the weatherization of 25 homes whose owners will benefit from reduced energy costs and improved home energy efficiency. Corps members also completed a mural on a wall of the garden, depicting scenes from the community.
The Black Veterans for Social Justice Project engaged Corps members in renovating apartments at four housing facilities in Bedford-Stuyvesant. This work included ensuring that various heating and electrical systems were functional. Through training from project partners, Corps members were provided with the opportunity to become certified in areas of carpentry, boiler and sprinkler functioning, along with other areas of building maintenance.
The William Hodson Senior Center is the oldest senior center in the United States. Corps members undertook an intensive clean-up campaign, restored the stage in the main dining room, and repainted the walls of the auditorium to create a vibrant atmosphere for the seniors.
Crotona Park is the largest park in the South Bronx and has partnered with the Justice Corps on a variety of outdoor and indoor projects. Corps members have repainted basketball courts and playground areas, as well as the walls of the pool house. Most recently, they helped design and plant a new garden landscape by building a fence around newly installed flowerbeds to prevent erosion.