Brooklyn Family Court Sees Forest City’s 1 Pierrepont as New Space

With the policy of the Cuomo administration to transfer minors from the state prison system, the Brooklyn Family Court is on the lookout for a new space. The court is eyeing the 30,000-square-foot space at Forest City Ratner's 1 Pierrepont Plaza.

An executive order that was issued in December by Gov. Andrew Cuomo rose the age for non-violent offenders to 18, who were tried in the criminal courts, as reported by The Real Deal.

The offenders aged 16 and 17 in New York are automatically tried as adults. To help rehabilitate young offenders, these young women and low-security-risk males will be transferred from adult prisons to juvenile facilities come August. 

These young offenders need to be diverted from the criminal justice system into family courts. But there is no room to expand at its current offices at 350 and 330 Jay Street, and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services can't find a suitable space.

The city's Law Department is now seeking to lease the 30,000 square feet for the court's back offices on the eighth floor of the building at 1 Pierrepont Plaza, according to an application filed with the Department of City Planning.

 "Raise the Age, when approved, will add 16- and 17-year-olds to the Family Court Division's juvenile delinquency practice, substantially increasing the workload of the division," as was stated in the application.

The building houses the Office of Court Administration on the 14^th floor and is also home to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. According to CoStar, the asking rents in the building are in the mid $40s per square foot.

Meanwhile, CEO of Forest City Ratner, MaryAnne Gilmartin, had said about the company that it's co-developing the Pacific Park residential project in Brooklyn with China's Greenland Group.

On a publication from Hubizz, the CEO of Forest City is worried that Brooklyn may soon no longer be the hippest part of town. "It's what people call Tribeca Triburbia. You don't want Brooklyn to become so diluted and watered-down that it loses its edge," said Gilmartin.