 Since restoration of the courthouse part of the building, former staffers of agencies involved in the activities there have rescued old ledgers and papers they found on visits to the unrestored ex-jail and living quarters section. These they passed along to current staffers who carefully safeguard them and, as carefully, show them to visitors researching the history of the ex-jail, hoping thereby to promote interest in rescuing the records in the ex-"bird sanctuary" attic. NYCHS has joined them in this effort, reaching out to governmental archivists. Although NYCHS succeeded in having a municipal archivist visit the attic and confirm the potential historical value of the records, post 9/11 budget constraints preclude undertaking such a major records rescue project for the time being.
Note: The unrestored look of the ex-jail and former living quarters in this image sequence and upcoming virtual tour sequences constitutes no reflection upon the NYC Civil Court, the Harlem Community Justice Center and others active in the restored part of the courthouse structure.
The ex-jail and the former living quarters are not part of the restoration program. Those unrestored parts of the building are outside the mandate of those agencies. However, to their and their staffs' credit, they demonstrate commendable civic interest in providing what information and assistance they can to researchers studying the history of the ex-jail and former living quarters.
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