Nassau County Supreme Court

Nassau County Supreme Court
100 Supreme Court Drive
Mineola, New York 11501

Nassau County Supreme Court Website

HISTORY

Nassau and Queens were a single county until the turn of the Twentieth Century, but split when New York City consolidated in 1898. Nassau officially became its own County on January 1, 1899, and contains three towns -- Oyster Bay, North Hempstead, and Hempstead -- as well as two cities and numerous incorporated villages.  

The cornerstone of the original Nassau County Courthouse was laid by Theodore Roosevelt, a resident of Oyster Bay, in July 1900.  After extensive renovations, this first courthouse was renamed the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building in 2008, and is now the home of the County legislature.

The Roosevelt Courthouse was the home of the Nassau County Supreme Court from 1900 through 1940. In 1940, a larger building was erected, and held both the Supreme Court and the County Court (which hears cases under $25,000). In 1965, the Supreme Court received a new building, its current home, located at 100 Supreme Court drive.

Resources:

Nassau County, Long Island, in early photographs, 1869-1940

By Bette S. Weidman, Linda B. Martin

Courts and Lawyers of New York 1609-1925,

By Alden Chester, E. Melvin Williams (1925)

LI Biz Blog, Nassau Justices Honored With Portraits

Richard Weir, NY Daily News, Thomas Suozzi praises renovated Nassau County Courthouse (2/28/2008).

Newsday, Time Capsul Unearthed, (1999)

Newsday: Long Island, First Farmers, Then Lawyers

Newsday, Falling Down on the Job / Years of neglect leave Nassau Co. facilities in decay (2001)

NY Times, Bids Are Opened for the Construction of A New Court House for Nassau County (Dec. 21, 1938).

NY Historical Society, Nassau County Supreme Court;

NY Times, THE GOVERNOR AT MINEOLA.; He Lays the Cornerstone of the New Court House and Talks of Honesty in Public Life. (July 14, 1900).

Bronx County Supreme Court

Bronx County Supreme Court (Mario Merola Building)

851 Grand Concourse

Bronx, NY 10451

(718) 618-1200

Bronx County Supreme Court Website

The Bronx County Courthouse is an imposing fortress of a building, with depression-era stonework evoking thoughts of turmoil and the struggle for justice. The building houses all of the civil cases in the Bronx -- from small claims and housing, to multi-million dollar personal injury suits, to business disputes -- and has been called a "one-stop justice shop." (NY Times).

The Bronx was first colonized in the seventeenth century by a swedish settler, Jonas Bronk. It remained a small farming community until 1898, when it was annexed by the newly-formed New York City and became part of Manhattan. (See Wikipedia). At the time, the Bronx had only 200 residents, but provided additional land for the growing city and provided the City's only connection to the mainland United States. Between 1900 and 1930, the population expanded exponentially, growing to more than one million residents. (Clerk's Office History).

In response to the rapid population growth, in 1933, amid the great depression, the City erected the Bronx County Supreme Court building to supplement the much-smaller Borough Courthouse. It was designed by Joseph Freedlander and Max Hausel, and was touted as an example of "Twentieth Century American style." (NYC.gov). The interior of the building boasts impressive marble floors and chandeliers; the outside, however, is "a conventional-looking, 12-story government building." (Octogenarian).

Above the entrance to the Courthouse is written:

The administration of justice presents the noblest field for the exercise of human capacity. It forms the ligament that binds society together. Upon its broad foundation is erected the ediface of public liberty.

This quote is taken from a speach by L.B. Proctor at the 1877 innaugral meeting of the Livingston County Historical Society, describing (and perhaps quoting from) the then-recently deceased Judge Isaac Endress, a noted jurist who was one of the delegates at New York's 1867 Constitutional Convention.

(Note: the first four photos depict the Mario Marola building; the bottom right photograph is of the Bronx Borough Courthouse, no longer in use, mentioned above).

Unlike many courthouses, the Bronx Counthouse has a flat roof and is, essentially, a giant cube. It is a massive, dominating, citadel of a building. In 1988, it was renamed the "Mario Merola" building, after the former Bronx District Attorney. At the dedication ceremony, Merola's successor, Paul Gentile, commented: "This fortress represents the indomitable spirt of the Bronx and of its namesake, Mario Merola." (NY Times).

In 2006, the Bronx County Courthouse became the first building in the Bronx to receive a "green roof," a roof garden that helps reduce pollution by both cleaning the air and reducing cooling and heating costs. (Greenroofs.com; Greenhome NYC).

The building is covered in frescos and surrounded by statutes. Although some of the depictions are classic courthouse scenes, such as Moses with the Ten Commandments, nearly all of the frescoes and statues contain large groups people who are, apparently, struggling to push forward. The stonework evokes servitude and oppression, perhaps suggesting that this is a courthouse for the people, meant to aid the little guy in obtaining justice.

Across the street from the Courthouse is Joyce Kilmer Park, with a fountain, several statutes, and green space.

Nearby, sharing a subway station, is Yankee Stadium. The photographs below depict, from left to right: (1) construction of the new stadium, as seen from the above-ground subway station; (2) the view from the courthouse steps; and (3) the front of the new stadium the morning before the first Yankee home game in 2009.

The Suffolk County Supreme Court

Suffolk County Supreme Court

COURTHOUSE INFO:

Riverhead: One Court Street, Riverhead, NY 11901

Central Islip: 400 Carleton Avenue, Central Islip, NY 11722

Suffolk County Supreme Court Website

HISTORY OF THE SUFFOLK COUNTY COURTHOUSES

The history of the Suffolk County Courthouse predates the United States itself. The first County Courthouse was built in 1729 in what is now known as Riverhead.  Prior to this, the County Court system consisted of small Town Courts, the most prominent of which was Southhampton.  The initial County courthouse was a small wood-framed building that served triple-duty as the courthouse, jail, and home of the jail-keeper and his family.  In 1822, Maria Edwards, the 22 year old daughter of the then-Jailkeeper, broke her arm while attempting to prevent a prisoner from escaping.  Other landmarks in the town during the colonial period included the local Congregationalist Church, and a pub named "Griffing's," after which "Griffing Avenue" is now named. 

The wood-frame colonial courthouse served Suffolk County for well over a century, playing host to all of the County's civil and criminal trials well into the nineteenth century.  One writer, who passed through the area in 1804, commented:

Riverhead is the shire of this County.  The courthouse, a poor decayed building, and a miserable hamlet, containing about ten or twelve houses, stands near the efflux of the river. From this account of the court house it will naturally be expected that the business of lawyers and sheriffs is not here in very great demand nor in very high reputation The suspicion is certainly well founded The county court or court of common pleas sits here twice a year assembles on Tuesday and after having finished its whole business adjourns almost always on the succeeding day No lawyer if I am not misinformed has hitherto ever been able to get a living in the county of Suffolk I entertain a very respectful opinion of the gentlemen of the bar but all will agree with me in saying that this exemption from litigation while it is a peculiar is also a very honorable characteristic of this county Not far from this hamlet is a spot of ground about three miles in diameter which as I was informed by good authority is covered with shrub oaks and pines not more than five or six feet in height In the whole tract there is not a single tree of the usual size although it is surrounded by a forest of such trees The cause of this phenomenon in a place where the soil is substantially the same with that of the neighboring country is not easy to assign.

Riverhead went through a period of rapid grown during the first half of the nineteenth century.  The town's ports drew a great deal of attention in July 1814, when a battle -- loosely associated with the War of 1812 -- was fought in Riverhead's harbor. Thirty men of the town militia turned away two British barges, suffering no casualties.  In the 1830's, the port was greatly expanded, and by the 1850's a growing population and the need for a larger jail prompted a demand for a new courthouse/jail complex.  

The rapid increase in population during the first half of the nineteenth century caused a significant change in the legal system.  Prior to this, the area had been sparsely populated and remarkably un-litigious.  Indeed, there were no full time attorneys until the latter part of the 1800s.  Instead, the more educated farmers, such as Hull Osborn (1771-1834), filled in as part-time judges and lawyers.  

A new combined courthouse and jail was erected in 1855, but was immediately criticized as inadequate for the County's needs.  Twenty-six years later, in 1881, a second building, a two story courthouse, was added to the complex.  By this point, the legal industry had expanded, and there were twenty-five full time lawyers in Suffolk County, two of whom maintained offices in Riverhead.  

The nineteenth century Courthouse complex was damaged by fire in 1928, and rebuilt in 1929, and thereafter remained in service until 1994.  In 1994, a long-awaited new Courthouse was built and is attached to the nineteenth century complex by bridges. The Courthouse is distinctly modern, with large glass walls and broad open spaces, but also incorporates the small town charm of Suffolk County.  

The new Courthouse hears strictly civil cases, with all criminal matters being heard at the Criminal Court  across the river (built in the 1970s).  

In 2011, the courthouse was renamed the Alan Oshrin Supreme Court building.

Pictures

[Two buildings from the 1881 Courthouse complex (rebuilt in 1928); and the 1996 Courthouse]

[The Peconic River]

Google Maps

View Larger Map

Resources:

* Suffolk County Supreme Court Official Website

* The Early History of Suffolk County, by Lt. Col. Sherrill Stevens

* Long Island Indians and The Early Settlers

* 10/18/1995 proceedings of the Suffolk County Legislature, officially naming the Cromarty Court Complex. 

* NY Times, 10/27/1855, criticism of the newly built courthouse

*  Legal and Judicial History of New York, By Alden Chester, et al.,  page 116 (National Americana society, 1911) 

* Courts and Lawyers of New York: A History 1609 - 1925, by Alden Chester, (The American Historical Society, Inc., 1925)

* NY Times, Riverhead's Long Awaited Courthouse, by Carole Paquette (8/15/2004)

* Forgotten Tales of Long Island, by Richard Panchyk, Page 126 (The History Press, 2008) 

* History of Long Island: Containing an Account of the Discovery and Settlement; with Other Important and Interesting Matters to the Present Time, By Benjamin Franklin Thompson (1839)

* New Courthouse Announcement, Benchmarks, Official Journal of the New York State Court's, Fall 2006

* Riverhead Hamlet, by Tom Morris, Newsday 

* Wikipedia, "Suffolk County"

*  N.Y. Times, "Things Are Looking Up In Downtown Riverhead," by John Rather, 7/17/2005) 

* Long Island Legal News, "Suffolk County Courthouse Gets New Name: Dedicated As The "Hon. Alan D. Oshrin Supreme Court Building"

  

THE SUPREME COURT BUILDING, 60 CENTRE STREET, NEW YORK, NY

The Manhattan Supreme Court building, in Foley Square, located at 60 Centre Street between Worth and Pearl Streets, is one of several Federal and State courthouses in downtown Manhattan.   It was erected over the course of six years, from 1919 to 1925, and officially became the seat of the New York County Supreme Court in 1927.  Although there are a few courtrooms in nearby buildings, this is the main building in Manhattan where civil lawsuits (such as personal injury or contract cases) over $50,000, and felony criminal cases, are handled.

The building features classic roman architecture.  The exterior is a clean granite facade, adorned by tall Corinthian columns, and capped by a triangular relief.   The building also features a 100-foot wide staircase, which has been featured in countless movies.  

Adjascent to the Courthouse is Foley Square Park, which features a large piece of medern art, the "Triumph of the Human Spirit Memorial."  Whenever the courthouse is open, there is an outdoor cafe, serving pizza and a variety of sandwiches, as well as a standard hotdog and/or breakfast cart.  

As you enter the Courthouse, the courthouse lobby is capped by a frescoed dome, depicting classic "legal" figures such as Moses and Hamurabi, and encircled by more Corinthian colums.  Each floor has a main circular walkway, with smaller corridors jutting off like spokes.  At the end of each corridor are two courtrooms.  The basement is also a public space, and houses the County Clerk's office. 

To reach the New York County Supreme Court by subway, take the 2/3 to Chambers Street and walk three blocks East, or take the 4/5 to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall.  

---- Links to my other Courthouse Posts ----

* Queens County

QUEENS COUNTY COURTHOUSE

THE COURTHOUSE

According to NYC.gov's historic building information, the Queens County Supreme Court Courthouse was built in 1935 (the one in Jamaica, there is also a smaller courthouse in Long Island City).  The entrance is neoclassical, with a limestone facade and Corinthian columns. 


The sculpture below was added in 1998. The outside ring contains a quote from Benjamin Cardozo: "Danger invites rescue. The cry of distress is the summons to relief.  The quote is from Wagner v. International Railway, 232 N.Y. 176 (1921). In Wagner, a man was injured helping someone who fell from a train.  Apparently, the artist could not find a good enough quote from Palsgraf v. Long Island R. Co., 248 N.Y. 339 (1928), also a famous Benjamin Cardozo decision, but where the accident occurred in Queens.




Surrounding the doors to the entrance are sculptures of Hamurrabi, Meno, Confusius, and Mohammed.

The inside of the courthouse is impressive. When you enter the main lobby, you immediately see the marble walls and "Grand Staircase," reminiscent of the stairs in the Titanic.  On the far wall are two murals, which were added in 1942, a few years after the courthouse opened. The one on the left depicts Moses with the Ten Commandments; the one on the right depicts the Constitutional Convention.  The walls are marble, and the elevator doors appear to be aged copper.