Manhattan (New York) Desk Appearance Ticket Procedures

When you appear in Manhattan for your Desk Appearance Ticket, one of the first things that will be accomplished is to establish whether or not your court papers are ready.  Despite what is often a fairly lengthy lag time between arrest and DAT appearance date, it frequently happens that the necessary documentation is not ready by the appointed date.  It seems that the frequency of non-readiness has diminished lately, but it is something that may happen.  If it does, do not be alarmed.  It does not mean your case has been singled out for especially harsh treatment.  In most cases, the reason for the lack of readiness is purely bureaucratic.

In some cases, the District Attorney’s Office takes a second look at Desk Appearance Ticket cases and may choose not to proceed at all. In such cases, you will be given a piece of paper roughly explaining this and giving you a telephone number to call in the event that you do not hear from anyone within the appointed time.

Sometimes, the District Attorney’s Office simply chooses not to proceed, but not always. Do not assume that your case is going to be dismissed simply because the papers were not ready the first time in court.

If you are told that the papers are not ready, you will be asked to sign in to verify that you actually appeared when you were told to appear. Then you will be free to go and wait to see if you are given a new date to appear in court.

In Manhattan there are two possible courthouses where you might be assigned with a Desk Appearance Ticket. You might be told to appear at the traditional criminal courthouse at 100 Centre Street, or you might be told to appear at the Midtown Community Court on West 54th Street. One is not necessarily worse than the other, and do not draw any conclusions from where you are told to appear.

New York City (Manhattan) Desk Appearance Ticket Locations

Desk Appearance Tickets in Manhattan can be heard in one of TWO different Court buildings.

100 Centre Street

Most Desk Appearance Tickets will be heard at the main Criminal Court Building located at 100 Centre Street, downtown.  DATs will be heard on the first floor arraignment courtroom beginning around 9:00 AM.

For public transportation to the main Criminal Court building in Manhattan: take the No. 4 or 5 train to the Brooklyn Bridge Station, or take the C, N, R, 6 train to Canal Street.  Traveling by bus take the 1, 6 or 15 bus.

Midtown Community Court

It is also possible that a DAT in Manhattan will be heard in Midtown Community Court, located at 314 West 54th Street.  Midtown Community Court is an innovative courtroom project designed primarily to address misdemeanor, quality of life offenses.  Court begins at 9:00 AM.

For public transportation to Midtown Community Court:  Take the N or R train to the 57th Street Station or the A, C , D, 1, 9 train to the Columbus Circle Station.