THE QUEENS
JUNE 2019
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Jim.henderson
Contest tickets at ‘Pop-Up’ city court in Flushing
BY JACOB KAYE
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Justice is coming to the Queens Public
Library in Flushing.
A neighborhood pop-up court will
appear inside the Flushing branch of the
Queens Public Library on June 20, the
New York City Offi ce of Administrative
Trials and Hearings announced on
Monday.
Th e pop-up court will off er Queens residents
with certain city-issued summonses
the ability to appear in front of a hearing
offi cer without leaving their home
borough, the city offi ce, known as OATH,
said. Th is is month’s pop-up is the fi rst to
be held in the immigrant-heavy Flushing
area.
“Giving residents access to the OATH
courts right in their backyard can serve as
a tremendous benefi t to both the city as it
looks to resolve backlogs of violations and
to residents by expediting the court process,”
said Councilman Peter Koo, who
represents the district the court will be
held in.
Marisa Senigo, a deputy commissioner
at OATH, said holding the pop-up
court in Flushing is, in part, meant to help
non-English-speaking immigrants who
may fear a court summons.
“Having it in immigrant-heavy communities
helps them understand that they
could come and they shouldn’t be scared,”
Senigo said. “Th is is a safe place to come
and they shouldn’t worry.”
Translation services will be provided in
250 languages, Senigo said.
Senigo said having the pop-up court
in the Flushing area is also important
because “this is an area that is diffi cult to
get to.”
OATH’s Queens offi ce is located in
Long Island City, and by holding the popup
court in Flushing, the offi ce hopes to
make arguing against a city summons
more convenient for those living in eastern
Queens neighborhoods.
Only certain summonses, such as
alleged rodent violations, having an open
container of alcohol, littering or public
urination, are eligible to be heard in
the one-day court. Alleged parking, traffi
c, speeding or red light camera violations
will not be heard inside the library
because the Offi ce of Administrative Trials
and Hearings is not the offi ce responsible
for those cases.
Additionally, the pop-up will only see
summonses assigned a hearing date of
June 20, 2019, or aft er.
On average, pop-up courts tend to hear
around 10 cases per day, according to
Senigo.
Pop-up courts were conceived to both
alleviate the stress on the OATH offi ces
and to ensure that defendants don’t have
to travel far to get their cases heard. Th e
fi rst neighborhood pop-up court was held
in April 2018 in the Bronx. Since then,
15 have been held across the city, three of
which were held in Queens.
Library services will not be aff ected the
day of the pop-up court.
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