FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 27, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
Q&A with Judge Anthony Cannataro
BY DEAN MOSES
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Schneps Media is sitting down with
judges across the city’s court systems
to discuss their roles and how they’ve
changed in the age of COVID-19. Th is
week’s interview is with the Hon. Anthony
Cannataro, Citywide Administrative
Judge of the Civil Court of the City of
New York and Justice of the New York
State Supreme Court.
Schneps Media: Could you describe
your duties as an Administrative
Judge?
Hon. Anthony Cannataro: I am the
Citywide Administrative Judge for the
Civil Court of the City of New York (one
of the three citywide courts along with
Family Court and Criminal Court). Th e
Civil Court operates in all fi ve borough
and is best known for our housing part
(the court that landlords go to when
they seek to evict their tenants and to litigate
other housing matters). Th at is an
extremely high-volume court: approximately
225,000 new cases are fi led every
year. Th e other well-known operation
of the Civil Court is the Small Claims
Court.
My job is to oversee the day-to-day
operations. I deal with budgets, with
problems like disciplinary issues, and
attendance issues as they come up. I
also deal with what we call access
to justice, which is the court’s
eff ort to make these highvolume
cases fairer for people.
Many of the litigants who
come here do not have attorneys
representing them. So,
we must go out of our way
to make sure that the process
is as fair as it can be even for
people who don’t have attorneys.
SM: Have housing
cases increased
because of the
pandemic?
AC: Not necessarily.
I would
almost say that the issue of representation
has gotten a little better because of
the pandemic, which is not to say that
everything is great. Since the pandemic
began, there has been a more concerted
movement, both within the court and
outside the court, to try to get counsel
assigned for people who are facing eviction
and who don’t have lawyers.
SM: How has the position changed
during the pandemic?
AC: I fi nd myself communicating a lot
more with interest groups that represent
various litigants. For example, in the
housing sphere, there are many groups
out there who are concerned about evictions
happening during a pandemic and
all the problems that come
along with litigating those
kinds of cases and possibly
evicting people as
a result of those cases.
I’m now speaking a lot
publicly and in smaller
groups with the various
interest groups about
how the court can do its
business and still be mindful
of the public health
and safety needs
of the liti
g a n t s
who come
before us.
Th ere are
many interests to balance. It’s extremely
diffi cult. Using housing as the prime
example: On the one hand you have tenants
who probably lost their jobs; they
legitimately cannot aff ord to pay their
rent. But you have landlords, many of
whom are small landlords who just own
two or three apartments, maybe in just
one building and they have to pay taxes
and they have to pay mortgages. Th ere
are a lot of diff erent perspectives.
SM: Has there been a silver lining
during the pandemic?
AC: Th e pandemic has really driven us
into using technology to help us do what
we do, whereas before the pandemic you
would hardly ever see virtual appearance
or conferencing with the court or
among the parties. We have moved forward
aggressively into using teleconferencing
platforms to do our work. Th ere
is a lot being done with remote appearance.
SM: Are there any misconceptions
people have about judges you would
like to clear up?
AC: Th e biggest misconception about
judges is that we are not sensitive to the
needs of the litigants that appear in front
of us, and I say this as someone who
oversees a court where there are so many
unrepresented people from such diverse
backgrounds. I think there is a feeling
that judges don’t understand what regular
people are going through. People
tend to forget sometimes that judges are
regular people. We come in all diff erent
types, sizes and backgrounds.
SM: Are there some hobbies you
enjoy partaking in during your free
time?
AC: I grew up as a child of Italian
immigrants. I spent many of my summers
in Italy and as I became older, I
started seeing the world. I just love to
travel. Th at’s the bug I have.
I love visiting off the beaten path
locations and cultures that I’ve never
seen before. Last summer, I went to the
Azores, which are small islands in the
middle of the Atlantic Ocean that are a
part of Portugal.
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