Each year thousands of teenagers with behavioral and mental health issues become justice-involved, even though they would be better served by the mental health system. Founded in 1977, the August Aichhorn Residential Treatment Facility–Brooklyn is a co-ed 24-bed inpatient psychiatric program for the treatment of adjudicated delinquents remanded to secure or modified secure custody. The program occupies parts of a 1990 building that was originally built as the State Children’s Psychiatric Center, and which was extensively redesigned and remodeled in 2012 to create a community-based, home-like residential facility with inviting living units; direct connections between the building, the street, and the community; and interior open recreational space.

As part of Spaces of Justice–OHNY’s yearlong series exploring the architecture of New York’s justice system–Open House New York and Aichhorn RTF–Brooklyn invite you to tour this facility to learn more about how Aichhorn’s innovative programs are working to reduce the involvement of adolescents in New York City’s justice system.

Spaces of Justice is a year-long series of tours, panel discussions, and other public programs that allow the public to examine firsthand the spaces with primary responsibility for producing safety and rendering justice in New York City. Major support has been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and a grant from the Reba Judith Sandler Foundation.