Art Class Instead Of Jail Cells: Brooklyn Museum And DA Team Up

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Brooklynites arrested for minor crimes will be sent to art classes instead of courtrooms under a new program from the Brooklyn Museum and Brooklyn District Attorney's office, officials announced.

The museum will begin hosting art classes for people accused of certain misdemeanors. If they complete the courses, the district attorney's office will not prosecute them, Eric Gonzalez said at museum press conference Wednesday morning.

"It's about holding people accountable, but doing it in ways that promotes human dignity, that helps them think about their conduct, and provides them with tools to contribute back to their community," Gonzalez said.

The two courses — one for young adults and another for those ages 26 and older — will draw from the museum's permanent collection and the students' personal experiences to discuss social justice, prison reform and personal autonomy with the help of the museum's staff of teaching artists, officials said.

Students will be asked to discuss and create art during the two-hour course.

A similar program will also be run in Downtown Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Justice Initiatives, where those arrested will work with social workers on an individual basis for a 90-minute session.

Those who successfully complete either of the programs will have the charges dropped and their cases sealed by the district attorney's office without ever having to appear in court.

New Yorkers eligible for the program include those arrested for criminal mischief, petty larceny, disorderly conduct and other similar offenses, officials said. Those selected through a screening process will be notified via an email to their attorneys.

The City Council will fund Project Reset citywide with $710,000 from the Council and $3.2 million from Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration, Council Speaker Corey Johnson said.

"We say art instead of jail, culture instead of prosecution," Johnson said. "Putting New Yorkers in the criminal justice system for minor offenses has to end, and we will have to keep fighting every single day to make that happen."

Project Reset, launched in May 2019 in 10 Brooklyn North precincts, expanded across the borough in August with help from partners at the museum, Legal Aid Society and Brooklyn Defender Services, organizers said.

More than 180 people have completed Project Reset — 51 of them at the museum — and had their cases dismissed, according to the district attorney's office.

"At the Brooklyn Museum, we’ve long been committed to programs that champion social justice issues," said David Berliner, president and chief operating officer of the museum. "This partnership provides a meaningful way for the arts to play a unique and critical role in criminal justice reform.”

This report is a collaboration from Patch editors Sam Raskin and Kathleen Culliton