In Patterson, Dreams Become Reality

Led by Supervisor Michael Griffin, State Senator Vincent Leibell, Judge John King, and Councilwoman Ginny Nacerino, ground is broken for the new Patterson Justice Center Saturday. ERIC GROSS Patterson’s new judicial center will become reality by early next year.

Ground was broken adjacent to the current Patterson Town Hall off Route 311 for the 7,000-square-foot courthouse last Saturday during a ceremony that was attended by some three dozen officials and residents who were told by Supervisor Michael Griffin: “Dreams become reality.”

The courthouse project was three and a half years in the planning stages. State Senator Vincent Leibell told the ceremony: “Miracles still happen. This is a significant project for the entire township as well as the Patterson Library, which has shared the library space with the courts for years. Now once the courts move out, the library will be able expand its facilities, as well.”

Patterson Town Justice John King reported a tremendous increase in court cases: “We are in the top 20 percent of the busiest courts in New York State. Last year, we generated $140,000 in fines. Divide that number by the $15 assessed per traffic citation and it’s easy to see how our cases have grown. This year alone Patterson is already 600 cases over 2009 for the first quarter of the year.”

Supervisor Griffin described his community as “no longer that sleepy little community in northern Putnam County. We are all grown up, topping 12,000 in population, and with the good attributes come the bad which, is the main reason we need expanded courtroom space.”

The new courthouse will double the size of the current courtroom as well as add additional storage space for records management. Griffin predicted the new courthouse would “solve our judicial space needs from now until eternity. One of the major attributes my administration has accomplished over the past 16 years is to upgrade our town facilities. We will never need another town hall or justice center. Except for an upgrade or two at the highway department, Patterson is pretty well set for the next 50 years.”