Pop-Up Courtroom Coming To Bed-Stuy, Councilman Says

BEDFORD STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — First there were pop-up restaurants, then it was pop-up ads. Now, in Bed-Stuy, there’s going to be a pop-up court.

This Friday, Restoration Plaza will host a neighborhood pop-up court where residents and small business owners can deal with civil summons without trekking to the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings courtroom in downtown Manhattan, City Councilman Robert Cornegy announced Monday.

“This kind of work is what instills faith amongst the people that our institutions are truly there to serve them,” Cornegy said at a press conference Monday. “When we in District 36 heard about this program, it was a no brainer.”

The impromptu courtroom — which will be set up in Cornegy’s Restoration Plaza fifth floor office from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 8 — will allow Bed-Stuy residents to address Sanitation and Health Department summons without leaving their neighborhood.

The pop-up court is only for people who have scheduled hearing dates at OATH — the court that handles New York City's enforcement agency cases — listed on their summons.

The pop-up is part of a new initiative to ease the strain a summons can put on New Yorkers by bringing courtrooms into their community boards, libraries, and public meeting spaces.

Photo courtesy of City Councilman Robert Cornegy's office