As some in-person appearances resume in New York City’s housing courts, advocates are calling out unsafe conditions at 141 Livingston Street in Brooklyn, as reported by Law 360.

Adriene Holder, Attorney-in-Charge of the Civil Practice at The Legal Aid Society was among those present as the courts reopened to clients and attorneys early last week. While it was too soon to evaluate the City’s new protocols for streamlining process and reducing crowding, Holder expressed concerns that 141 Livingston could ever be an appropriate venue. The facility was formerly a commercial space and features narrow hallways, which will not allow for proper spacing.

“I’m really dismayed that all this time there was no progress in moving towards this new space,” she said. “[It is] going to continue to be an unfit space for our communities to find justice.”

The City had planned to move the civil court from Livingston Street to the Brooklyn Municipal Building, a space that could safely accommodate a higher volume of in-person traffic, but those plans never materialized. Holder sees the inaction as yet another example of a system unconcerned with the people it serves.

“High-volume courts, “whether it’s criminal, family or housing court, seem like spaces that everyone forgot,” she said.