S9839

The Senate passed legislation creating 28 new judicial positions to address a crisis in New York's Family Courts, but the measure sparked sharp criticism over the exclusion of Staten Island from new Civil Court judgeships. The bill passed 48-13, creating 12 new Civil Court judges for New York City (allocated to the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn), four Family Court judges for New York City, and 12 Family Court judges across the state. Sponsor Sen. Hoylman-Sigal cited a 5,000-case backlog growth in Family Court in 2022 and noted that $12 million was allocated in the budget for the judges. However, Sen. Lanza mounted a forceful challenge to Staten Island's exclusion, noting the borough has not received a new Civil Court seat since 1968 despite its population nearly doubling to over 500,000 and having caseloads comparable to other boroughs. Lanza suggested the exclusion was politically motivated to avoid creating Republican electoral opportunities and called for an investigation into Governor Hochul's office involvement, characterizing the allocation as a potential 'quid pro quo.' Sen. Stec criticized the deviation from Office of Court Administration recommendations, noting Essex County in the North Country was also excluded despite six years of requests and documented caseload data. Sen. Scarcella-Spanton, a Staten Island Democrat, voted against the bill and introduced alternative legislation (S9855A) to give Staten Island parity with other boroughs. The bill takes effect immediately.