Music invades the Justice Center, by Highnote Legalese

The Red Hook Community Justice Center is well known for their innovative style of justice. But in recent months, Judge Alex Calabrese has felt as though something is missing.

“It’s just so quiet sometimes. There can be a lot of tension and anxiety,” the judge said. “There must be something we can do to calm people’s nerves.”

Need for beats
When a young defendant named Philip Havoc asked if he could “drop some beats” after his arraignment, Calabrese honored the boy’s request. “All of a sudden, a light went off. I saw how much of a difference his music brought into the courtroom. People were smiling, and the air felt light and fluffy,” the judge explained. “I wanted every day and every case to feel like this.”

Love for music
As a small child, music was an important part of Calabrese’s upbringing. As a youngster, his mother and father insisted he learn to play an instrument. Naturally, he chose the maracas, ergo a special place in his heart for salsa and waltzes.

“When I spoke with the powers that be, they really embraced the idea. They’re always so supportive of anything that will benefit the youth,” Judge Calabrese said.

Starting April 3, all court hearings and sessions will be accompanied by an eight-piece Mariachi band. Judge Calabrese might just have a chance to drop some beats of his own with those dusty old maracas he’s been saving for a rainy day.

Ole!

Author

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Comments are closed.

On Key

Related Posts

MUSIC: Wiggly Air, by Kurt Gottschalk

Apparitions of the Eternal Earth. On their monolithic 2022 debut, Eyes Like Predatory Wealth, the Houston, TX trio Apparitions set forth a slow burn with three tracks running, in sequence, 10, 20 and 30 minutes. The fire has been spreading ever since. In 2023, they issued the digital-only Semel, with three poundingly untitled tracks, and this month comes Volcanic Reality (CD

Quinn on Books: “Lost in Love”

“Lost in Love”: Review of “Horse Crazy,” by Gary Indiana, introduction by Tobi Haslett,   Reviewed by Michael Quinn Years ago, I fell for a recovering drug addict. I met him at a funeral for a man we had both been involved with. When he caught me looking, he smiled—a slow, disarming gesture that made my heart thump like a

The Impact of 9,000 New Apartments on Red Hook: A Community’s Concerns

I’ve been trying to calculate how many new apartment buildings are needed to accommodate the 7,000 to 9,000 housing units the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) wants to add to our neighborhood to help pay for the redevelopment of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, the 122-acre strip of waterfront extending from our neighborhood, through the Columbia Waterfront District, to Atlantic Avenue.