The collaborative initiative seeks to transform the ways young people across New York State first interact with the justice system
Dec 7, 2023
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NEW YORK – The City University of New York School of Law is proud to announce the appointment of the Honorable Tracey Bing ’96, retired judge and long-time advocate for New York’s children, families, and their communities, as Director of its First Impressions Youth Justice Access Initiative (First Impressions). Judge Bing joins the Law School to bring First Impressions into its next phase of program development and delivery. Formally launched in May 2023, First Impressions is designed to change how young people and the justice system interact by offering a community-focused framework for mentorship, education, and civic leadership. The program is set up to be hyper-local and responsive, shaped directly by the CUNY Law students teaching civic empowerment to young people across New York and the community organizations they work alongside.
“We are thrilled to have Judge Bing help lead this multi-faced program,” said CUNY Law Dean Sudha Setty. “Her enduring commitment to justice and advocacy for young people shines throughout her career and ongoing mentorship of youth in New York City.”
Made possible by support and leadership from New York State Senator Jamaal T. Bailey, a 2012 alumnus of the Law School, and Governor Kathy Hochul, First Impressions, in partnership with the NYS Office of Court Administration (OCA) and United Neighborhood Houses New York (UNH), is the first program of its kind and a model designed to be replicated across New York State.
“Judge Tracey Bing’s leadership of the First Impressions Youth Justice Access Initiative will be transformative in bringing our vision for the program to life. Throughout her career, Judge Bing has been dedicated in her work to advance diverse representation in the legal field and advocate for the well-being of children and families across our state. I look forward to working alongside Judge Bing, CUNY Law, and our dedicated community partners to forge the next chapter of the First Impressions program and change the narrative to create a justice system that truly serves everyone,” said Senator Jamaal T. Bailey ’12.
“I am thrilled and humbled to be back home at CUNY Law where I began my journey of empowering and educating New York City families. Working with Senator Bailey, law students, high school students, alumni, community partners, and the CUNY Law community is an amazing opportunity to inspire future social justice leaders. It is a privilege to advance the goals of this transformative program, as we uplift our young people,” said Judge Tracey A. Bing ’96.
Judge Bing has provided community legal advocacy and education throughout her career, beginning with her work at Harlem Legal Services as an IOLA Legal Services Fellow. She has continued advocating for families, children, and survivors of domestic violence ever since. During her tenure at the Legal Aid Society, she advocated for children’s rights at the Juvenile Rights Division Bronx Office and represented HIV-affected clients in civil matters at the Community Law Offices in East Harlem. As the Director of the Family Law/Domestic Violence Unit at Manhattan Legal Services, she supervised a team focused on various family law matters. Serving as a judge in Bronx County Family Court for nearly a decade, she presided over a child protective docket, handling cases related to neglect, abuse, termination of parental rights, adoption, custody, visitation, guardianship, paternity, and family offense matters.
Notably, Judge Bing co-chaired the Bronx County Family Court Disproportionate Minority Representation Committee, addressing disparities in the legal system. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at CUNY School of Law and presents legal education at Continuing Legal Education training. For several years, she chaired the Upper Manhattan Domestic Violence Services Collaborative, an eleven agency multi-disciplinary community-based model. She is a current Young Debater Program middle school debate judge, was recently a Legal Outreach high school mentor and debate judge, and previously a judge for the Bronx County Thurgood Marshall Middle School Mock trial program, and the Georgetown Law School White Collar Crime Moot Court Competition. Judge Bing is a member of various associations, including the Judicial Friends, and the New York City, New York State, and Metropolitan Black Bar Associations.
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The City University of New York School of Law is the nation’s leading public interest law school and ranked highest in diversity of students and faculty. CUNY Law has a dual mission: to recruit and train excellent public interest lawyers and to diversify the legal profession so that it includes and reflects more people and communities needed to transform justice.