Dec 7, 2007

SF CJC Newsletter

Today, the first CJC Newsletter was distributed to community members and residents who have attended neighborhood needs assessment and outreach meetings. If you would like to be added to a distribution list to receive future mailings, please email: communityjusticecenter@sftc.org.


Dear San Francisco Community:

The San Francisco Superior Court and the Mayor’s Office want to thank you for your interest and participation in the development of the Community Justice Center. Attached is an update on the planning and progress to date.

COMMUNITY JUSTICE CENTER BRIEFING

The Community Justice Center (CJC) is a newly proposed collaborative court of the Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco. It is a collaborative project led by the Superior Court and the Mayor’s Office, in partnership with the District Attorney, Public Defender, San Francisco Police Department, Adult Probation Department, Sheriff, Human Services Agency, and the Department of Public Health. The development of this collaborative court has been a part of the Superior Court’s strategic plan since 2001, and its implementation gained momentum when the Mayor’s Office identified the development of a Community Justice Center as a public safety priority.


Founded on the values of restorative justice, the CJC will be co-located and programmatically integrated with a variety of support services. The types of criminal cases that will be heard at the court include misdemeanors (except domestic violence, drunk driving and licensing cases), and felony cases (except violence). The court will handle cases of the CJC community from pre-arraignment to post-conviction. Additional judicial services will be evaluated on an on-going basis.

Geographic Area

The CJC community is bordered by Bush Street on the north, Kearny and Third Streets on the East, Harrison Street on the south, and Otis and Gough on the west. This community is served by Southern, Central, Northern and Tenderloin Police Stations. A map of this area is attached.

Site Location

As was announced December 6th, after investigating a number of site options, the City has identified a desired permanent location for the CJC at 555/575 Polk Street. The 575 Polk address is already occupied by the Superior Court and has a courtroom available for the CJC. The second floor of this building (555 Polk) is where the social, restorative justice, and ancillary services will be housed. The City has signed a letter of intent to sublet this space, which is anticipated to become available by March 1, 2008.

This site is ideal for a number of reasons. It is located within the CJC region, it already has a courtroom in place, and the facility is in great shape - such that renovation costs will be minimal, and it will shortly become available.

Community Participation

The CJC collaborative is working with a network of community leaders who are advising on how to best incorporate citizen participation into the design, implementation, and management of the CJC. This advisory group consists of eight community representatives who participated in a site visit to a community court located in Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY, organized by the Mayor’s Office. These individuals represent community and faith-based organizations and the community courts in the Tenderloin and SOMA neighborhoods. In addition, this advisory group has been tasked with outreach to the San Francisco community to generate participation in the CJC’s first “town hall” meeting on January 15, 2008. Town hall meetings will be a regular part of the CJC and will allow the CJC to hear directly from and be accountable to the community.

The CJC will be creating a more formal Community Advisory Board in 2008. Additional information about the structure and composition of this board will be discussed at the Town Hall meeting.

Details for the first Town Hall meeting:
January 15, 2008, 5:30-7:00
The San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin St., (at Grove).
Koret Auditorium, located on the Library’s lower level
Enter 30 Grove St., proceed down stairs

Community Outreach

The CJC collaborative has met with community members from more than 100 different community organizations to elicit community feedback on the design of the CJC – many of whom have expressed support for the initiative. Some of the types of groups include residents, neighborhood councils, business associations, arts and cultural institutions, social service providers, and neighborhood advocacy groups, including the following:

Academy of Art, American Cancer Society, ATT, Bars and Tone, Boyd Lighting, Central Market Community Benefit District Public Safety, C.L.A.E.R. - Community Leadership, Academy Emergency Response (project of SF Urban Institute), Carnon Warehouse, Chancellor Hotel Union Square, CCDC - Chinatown Community Development Center, Citizen Professional & Security, City Park, Civic Center Stakeholders, Coalition on Homelessness, Community Leadership Alliance, Cooper White & Cooper, CVE, Inc.- Community Vocational Enterprises, Dome, L.L.C, Express, Filipino Community Center, Fifield Co., GGRA - Golden Gate Restaurant Association, Goodwill Industries, Grand Hyatt San Francisco, Grubb & Ellis, Hastings Security Conference, Hanford - Freund & Co., Harsch Investment Properties, Hastings Law, HSB Forex Group, Hutton, Jobs for Youth, North of Market/Tenderloin Community Benefit District, Large Arts Organization, Lower Polk Neighbors, MPNA - Middle Polk Neighborhood Association, North of Market Planning Coalition, Norcal Shredding, Notary Public, Rancho Parnassus, Renoir Hotel, RHN - Russian Hill Neighbors, SAFE (neighborhood watch), Safety Network, Tenderloin/SOMA Community Court, San Francisco Ballet, SF Chamber of Commerce Public Policy Committee, San Francisco Film Society, San Francisco Performances, San Francisco Theatre District, SF Works, Shreve & Co., South of Market Business Association, SOMA Leadership Council, SOMPAC - South of Market Project Area Committee, St. Anthony’s, Tenant Associations Coalition, Terwilliger Mgt. Co., The Keil Companies, The Warfield, Tehama Street Neighbors, Tenderloin Futures Collaborative, Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, The New Tenderloin, Tom Waddell Health Center, Turner Real Estate, Union Square BID, Union Square Association, Union Square Business Association, Urban Solutions Wells Fargo, Western Soma Westfield Metreon West & Co., Yerba Buena Alliance, YMCA, Glide Church, The Tenderloin Housing Clinic, Vietnamese Community Center, Yerba Buena Alliance…and more.

If you are a part of a community group or neighborhood association and would like an update on the progress of the CJC, please come to the upcoming town hall on January 15th, or email communityjusticecenter@sftc.org


*****

For more information, please visit us on the web at www.sftc.org/collaborativejustice
and see our new blog at http://www.sfcollaborativejustice.blogspot.com/

Please email your questions and feedback to communityjusticecenter@sftc.org

If you received this email in error, or would like to be removed from future mailings, please send an email to communityjusticecenter@sftc.org with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line.


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