The Bronx Family Court

(Courthouses In New York City)

Completed in 1977, the Bronx Family-Criminal Courthouse is located on the north side of East 161st Street between Sheridan and Sherman Avenues. It houses the Family Court, Criminal Court and their associated offices, the District Attorney, and offices of the Departments of Probation, Human Resources, Corrections, and NYPD. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Harrison and Abramowitz and was completed in 1977 at a cost of $31,610,000.

The Family Court of the State of New York was established to take action in the lives of children, parents and spouses. The court has a wide range of powers to fit the particular needs of the people who come before it.

The Family Court Act gives the Family Court power to hear certain types of cases. As each case is filed in the court, it is assigned its own identifying number, called a docket number. The docket number begins with a letter which tells the type of case filed. For example, a paternity case is given a docket number beginning with the letter “P”.

In New York City, each of the five boroughs has its own Family Court. Generally, a case may be filed without fee in the county where one of the parties lives. Most Family Court hearings (trials) are heard by judges. Support magistrates hear support and paternity cases. There are no juries in Family Court: the judge or support magistrate conducts a hearing and decides the case.

The Family Court is generally open to the public, in addition to those persons who are directly involved with a particular case. However, the judge or support magistrate presiding over each case has the authority to exclude the public from the courtroom depending upon the nature of the case or the privacy interests of the parties.

 

Contact Information

The Bronx County Family Court
900 Sheridan Ave (Map)
Bronx NY 10451
(corner of 161 Street)

Phone: 718-618-2098

Subway – Take the C, D or 4 train to the Yankee Stadium/161st Street Station.

Bus – Take the BX 6 or BX 13 to East 161st Street & Sheridan Avenue; the BX 1 to East 161st Street & Grand Concourse.