Had to sue a slumlord in Harlem and ended up here. I'll start with the positives: everyone from the bailiff, to the security staff to the legal personnel is friendly and super helpful. They make sure your questions are answered and that they service you as quickly as possible. The mediators are really good at their job as well - they are very resolution-centered. Since this is a busy courthouse, they have 3 options for your court hearing: judge, mediator and arbitrator. This is where I get to why I'm giving this place such a low rating... If they feel your case isn't "worthy" enough to go before a judge, they will talk you into the option of a mediator or arbitrator. Knowing that these 2 options typically rule in a way that makes everyone happy, I was not interested in going this route. But, after being talked into it, I decided to play along. I end up in arbitration with a volunteer attorney who was more concerned with ruling in everyone's favor instead of judging on merit, facts and using intuition. As a result, an "even" judgement was entered where I won a little and the defendant won a little. Had my case gone before a judge, that wouldn't have happened - the judge wouldn't definitely ruled 100% in my favor. FYI - you cannot appeal the decision of an arbitrator. Stick to your guns and go before the judge only...esp if your defendant is a savvy liar who can easily deceive a volunteer attorney or mediator. Judges have strong lie detectors that these type of folks won't be able to con. read more