Brooklyn federal courthouse atrium named after Judge Raymond Dearie

April 30, 2018 By Rob Abruzzese, Legal Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Judge Raymond Dearie oversaw design and construction of Brooklyn’s federal court from 1992 until 2007. Eagle photo by Rob Abruzzese

Judge Raymond Dearie. Eagle photo by Rob Abruzzese

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There are many courthouses in Downtown Brooklyn, but perhaps the crown jewel is the federal courthouse located across the street from Cadman Plaza Park. It’s a true cathedral to justice where some of the country’s biggest cases are held daily and thousands of new citizens are naturalized every year.

Perhaps the most breathtaking aspect of the courthouse is its grand atrium which welcomes the public and connects the different parts of the building together.

On Thursday, that atrium was named after Judge Raymond J. Dearie, who was responsible for overseeing the design of the courthouse from 1992 until 2007, during a special session at the court on Thursday.

“In 20 years when folks are asking themselves who is this guy Ray Dearie, your magnificent courthouse will stand proudly in this community,” Dearie said to Rafael Pelli, of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, whose firm brought the building to life. “I have to apologize because Pelli designed it and I get to put my name on it.”

Thursday’s ceremony was hosted by Hon. Joanne Seybert, who filled in for Chief Judge Dora Irizarry, who is taking a leave of absence after the death of her father. Other speakers included Judge I. Leo Glasser, Paul Bergman and Rafael Pelli.

Paul B. Bergman. Eagle photo by Rob Abruzzese

Each of the three speakers discussed Dearie’s legacy on the bench and specifically the work he did to oversee the creation of the new portion of the building.

“This is a very special place,” Seybert said. “It not only houses courtrooms, but a variety of agencies that keep us safe. There are many emergency agencies here and it’s a bastion of safety for many.”

Pelli described meeting Dearie for the first time in the early ’90s with an idea of what was needed to be done. He said that the judge had him meet with nearly the entire staff of the building before work was to be started so the architecture firm could have a real understanding about how the building should function.

“We would go on the bench with him, go off the bench with him,” Pelli said. “He had us really understand what the logistics and what they have to do every day to get to the bench and off of the bench. He had us spend time with the U.S. marshals to see how they get access. We spent time with the court reporters to see what they need to do. We came to understand what a complex machine this all was and what a diverse array of constituencies needed to work in this courthouse for it all to work well.”

Judge Frederic Block (left) and former Chief Judge Edward R. Korman. Eagle photo by Rob Abruzzese

Pelli said that the judge was determined that the building serve the public first and foremost. To that end, the judge requested as much natural light be brought into the building as possible, not a typical request for federal courthouses at the time.

The key piece of the renovation was the atrium that connected the old courthouse building to the new addition. The atrium was meant to be a modern day civic space that connects all of the parts of the building.

“It really recalls the courthouse steps of earlier years,” Pelli said. “It is an informal gathering space. It’s not directly a waiting room for the courthouse, but a transition room to the waiting rooms of the courthouse itself. Both buildings take place off of the atrium. We gathered the public uses — the cafeteria, the jury rooms, off of that atrium space.”

Dearie said that while the dedication meant so much to him that he would rather avoid the ceremony and joked that the entire event was an ambush by his friend Judge Weinstein and Chief Judge Irizarry. He also denied a lot of the credit and passed it off to Pelli architects and Glasser.

“The Pelli courthouse should be a big feather in Judge Leo Glasser cap,” Dearie said. “Without [him] we would have been adrift with the countless decisions that are required along the way. Please remember that when you admire Pelli’s courthouse in large measure you have Leo Glasser to thank.

“We reached out to everyone in our expanded courthouse community and we asked them for their input, in a real sense, in the design of the building,” Dearie said, again denying credit given to him. “Good design is an all hands sort of thing and all of you answered the call — clerks, courtroom deputies, interpreters, court reporters, marshals, the lawyers and our community.”