A Conversation About Activating Spaces and Places Through Resident Engagement

The Center for Court Innovation (CCI), an NYHealth grantee, works to help create a more effective and humane justice system by designing and implementing programs, performing original research, and providing reformers with the tools they need to launch new strategies. In NYHealth’s Healthy Neighborhoods Fund community of Brownsville, Brooklyn, CCI’s Brownsville Community Justice Center endeavors to reduce crime and incarceration and increase public safety by developing innovative strategies that activate public spaces.

In the Healthy Neighborhoods Fund Near Westside neighborhood in Syracuse, CCI’s Peacemaking Project provides free restorative justice programming that uses community-based conflict resolution to address quality-of-life crimes and resolve neighborhood disputes. Peacemaking programs can improve community safety, build trust among neighbors, and create safer outdoor spaces for play.

On July 16, 2019, NYHealth hosted a discussion on CCI’s holistic approach to improving community health through placemaking and resident engagement.

Panelists were:

• James Brodick, Director, Community Development and Crime Prevention
• Deron Johnston, Director, Brownsville Community Justice Center (see speaker slides here)
• Leah Russell, Project Coordinator, Near Westside Peacemaking Project (see speaker slides here)