[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 61 (Tuesday, April 9, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E438-E439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       IN RECOGNITION OF THE DESIGNATION OF CHILDREN'S COURT WAY

                                  _____
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 9, 2019

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay 
tribute to the 100 Committee to Commemorate the Children's Court, on 
the occasion of the designation of Children's Court Way, located on the 
northwest corner of East 22nd Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan. 
Children's Court Way will recognize the unique role of the Children's 
Court in the development of the juvenile court system and the principle 
of treating children differently from adults.
  The 100 Committee to Commemorate the Children's Court was established 
in August 2015 by community activists in Gramercy Park and Kips Bay 
area, including Dr. Samuel D. Albert, Edith Charlton, Louise Dankberg, 
Molly Hollister, Judge Judy Kim, Alan Krevis, Greg Lambert, Judge 
Andrea Masley, Greg Martello, Lois Rakoff, Marti Speranza, Mark P. 
Thompson, Tiffany Townsend, Kathleen C. Waterman, Claude L. Winfield 
and the Committee's Chairperson, Michelle Winfield. Their goal has been 
to gain recognition of the site where America's first juvenile court 
operated for more than six decades.
  Before the early 1900s, children under the age of 16 who were accused 
of crimes were tried and sentenced as adults. Progressive reformers 
believed young people awaiting trial in the same jails as adult 
criminal suspects were more likely to become repeat offenders than to 
be rehabilitated. In 1902, an act of the New York State legislature 
established the Children's Part within the NY Court of Special 
Sessions, making New York County the first in the United States to have 
a juvenile court housed in its own building. The court, initially 
located at 66 Third Avenue, near East 11th Street, opened that summer.
  The reform law also reclassified all crimes committed by minors under 
the age of 16, other than capital offenses, as misdemeanors so as to 
shield children from harsh sentencing laws. Emphasizing reform instead 
of detention helped countless children avoid being labeled as 
criminals. The guiding principle was, as a 1902 NY Times article put 
it, ``to guard children against the exposure and environment of 
crime.''
  By 1912, the original building was viewed as unsanitary, and noise 
from the nearby elevated train line made it hard to carry out court, 
proceedings. The decision was made to invest $250,000 in a new 
Children's Court building. On July 1, 1915, the Children's Court was 
officially established as a separate entity from the Court of Special 
Sessions and relocated to 137 East 22nd Street, near Third Avenue. The 
new site was chosen due to its proximity to other social welfare 
institutions, including the YMCA, United Charities, the Catholic 
Mission

[[Page E439]]

House, the Manhattan Trade School for Girls, and the Free Academy--a 
predecessor of City College and the current site of Baruch College. A 
testament to New York's commitment to reforming young people's 
relationship with the justice system, the building housed a large main 
courtroom, physical and mental health services, and its own probation 
department. The Children's Court occupied this space until 1981, at 
which point the Family Court, as it is now called, relocated to 60 
Lafayette Street.
  Today, the Children's Court building is home to Baruch College's 
Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute. More than a century later, 
though, the original inscription on the building's cornerstone still 
reads: ``For every child let truth spring from earth and justice and 
mercy look down from heaven.'' Like the inscription, the designation of 
this corner as Children's Court Way will serve as a reminder of the 
advances we have made in child welfare and the far-sighted reformers 
who dedicated their lives to the protection and advancement of 
America's children.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 
dedication of the 100 Committee to Commemorate the Children's Court and 
celebrating the designation of Children's Court Way.

                          ____________________