New York City Court Information

Courts in New York City include:

•    New York City Civil Court
•    New York City Criminal Court
•    New York City Family Court

New York City Civil Court

The New York City Civil Court exercises jurisdiction over all civil matters that carry maximum fines of not more than $25,000. It hears and decides on cases arising from its small claims division, on civil cases in which the amount in dispute is less than $5,000. It also gives judgment on cases from the housing division that deal with landlord and tenant dispute cases and the violation of the housing codes.

Some of the cases tried at the New York City Civil Court are:
•    Recovery of money on products that are sold or which have been delivered
•    Defaults on small loans
•    Defaults on hospital bills
•    Recovery of money due for services rendered
•    Recovery of money on professional services such as legal or dental work
•    Recovery of money due for trade services provided
•    Recovery of money for damage to personal property, such as home or car

Housing Court and Small Claims Court

Housing Court and the Court of Small Claims are the two divisions of the New York City Civil Court.

Housing Court: Housing Court maintains and establishes housing standards in accordance with New York City law. Cases heard by housing court include: Landlord tenant dispute cases, eviction cases, holdover proceeding cases, and non-payment cases. For more information on housing court, visit http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/nyc/housing/index.shtml.

Court of Small Claims: The Court of Small Claims is an informal court that offers a quick and inexpensive solution to resolve disputes between a plaintiff and a defendant without the presence of an attorney. It exercises jurisdiction over cases that deal with an amount that is less than $5,000.

Cases heard by the Court of Small claims deal with damage to personal property such as cars, homes, or businesses, cases that involve a breach of contract, lease, warranty or any other agreement, for a bounced or failed check, cases that deal with the failure to return money loaned, or return the security deposit.

For more information on the Court of Small Claims, visit http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/nyc/smallclaims/index.shtml.

For information on civil court hours of New York City Courts, visit http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/nyc/civil/courthours.shtml.

Contact Information for Civil Courts of New York City

Bronx County - Civil
851 Grand Concourse
Bronx, NY 10451
(646) 386 5700  
Clerk of the County: (718) 618-2500
Civil Court Clerk’s Office: (718) 618-2500
Special Term (Motions): (718) 618-2566
Small Claims Clerk’s Office: (718) 618-2518

Bronx County - Housing
1118 Grand Concourse
Bronx, NY 10456
(646)386-5750
Clerk of the County: (718) 466-3005
Landlord-Tenant Clerk’s Office: (718) 466-3025

For information on the civil courts of other boroughs in New York City, visit http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/nyc/civil/addresses.shtml.

New York City Criminal Court:

New York City criminal court is the first level of the trial courts that deal with criminal cases and matters in New York City. The Criminal Court has jurisdiction over all criminal matters such as misdemeanor cases, indictments and minor felony cases. Criminal Court also hears and decides on criminal motions and jury trials. Cases that deal with major felonies are heard by the Supreme Court of New York.

The Mayor of New York appoints the judges of the criminal court for a ten year term. The judges of the criminal court also function as acting justices of the Supreme Court of the New York State. The Traffic Violations Bureau which works under the Motor Vehicles Department of New York State deals with violations of traffic codes.

For more information on the services offered by the criminal court in New York City, visit http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/nyc/criminal/generalinfo.shtml.

New York City Family Court

The family court in New York City exercises jurisdiction over matters and cases that deal with families and children. The family court hears and decides cases dealing with spousal support, parenting, visitation rights, custody rights, and child support.

Family court shares concurrent jurisdiction with the New York City criminal court over any matter that deals with domestic violence cases, the neglect or abuse of children, delinquency cases, cases which pertain to parental rights, adoption, foster care review and approval cases and cases involving guardianship issue.

Family court, however, does not have the right to hear or decide on cases which deal with divorce, annulment, or separation.

The judges of the family court are appointed by the Mayor for a term of ten years.
For more information on programs and services offered by the New York City family court, visit http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/family/index.shtml.