The Association for Conflict Resolution
of Greater New York
and
The CUNY Dispute Resolution Center at John Jay College
Monthly
NYC-DR Roundtable Breakfast
Facilitation of the
New York City Stop & Frisk
Joint Remedial Process:
Progress and Dialogue
Judge Ariel E. Belen (Ret.) of JAMS
In this session, Judge Ariel E. Belen (Ret.) of JAMS will provide a briefing on his progress and experiences as the court appointed Facilitator for the New York City Stop and Frisk Joint Remedial Process and will welcome questions from the audience. Judge Belen’s facilitation is done under terms that the parties agreed to follow and that are set forth in Floyd v. City of New York, 959 F. Supp. 2d 668 (SDNY 2013), (“Remedies Opinion”).
As Facilitator, Judge Belen is charged with assisting the citizenry and the City of New York with developing sustainable reforms to the stop and frisk and housing stop and trespass arrest policies of the New York City Police Department through a community based civic engagement process.
The Facilitator’s job is to gather and meet with stakeholders in the litigation – members of mainly affected communities and relevant institutions – who will take part in a remedial process that will include focus groups and community forums. The Facilitator is charged with seeking community input and writing a report to the federal court with recommendations for additional sustainable reforms that are no broader than necessary to bring the New York City Police Department into compliance with constitutional mandates.
Hon. Ariel E. Belen (Ret.) is an accomplished mediator and arbitrator at JAMS. As a well-known figure in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) he has developed a diverse practice and is sought after in many areas of conflict resolution. Judge Belen formerly served as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department from 2008 until 2012 and served as a Justice of the New York Supreme Court trial and appellate terms from 1995 until 2012. Justice Belen helped create the Commercial Division in Kings County (Brooklyn) and then presided over complex commercial cases from 2002 to 2005. Over the course of nearly 18 years of distinguished judicial service and during his time at JAMS, Judge Belen has developed a reputation as a calm, intelligent, fair, and hardworking neutral.
Since joining JAMS in 2012, Judge Belen has acted as an arbitrator or mediator in hundreds of complex disputes covering a wide range of practice areas. As a result of his reputation on the bench and his experience at JAMS, Judge Belen is also a highly sought after special master. In particular, Judge Belen was appointed as Facilitator for the Joint Remedial Process to be done in association with Floyd v. City of New York, 959 F. Supp. 2d 668 (SDNY 2013) (the New York City stop and frisk and housing arrests class action settlements). In this program, Judge Belen is charged with assisting the City of New York and its residents with developing sustainable reforms to the stop and frisk and housing arrest practices of the New York City Police Department through a community based civic engagement and remedial process.
A prolific writer, Justice Belen co-authored New York Trial Notebook, a comprehensive trial practice treatise. He was an instructor for many years at the New York State Judicial Institute where he taught all newly appointed or elected New York judges in the art of judging.
Justice Belen is fluent in Spanish. He can effectively communicate with Spanish speaking litigants and clients in all matters.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
● Chair, ADR Committee, New York County Lawyers Association, 2012- present
● Member, Advisory Council, CPR: International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution Panel
of Distinguished Neutrals, 2013-present
● Justice Belen presided for several years over the Jury Coordinating and Trial Assignment parts in
Kings County (Brooklyn). In this capacity, he settled hundreds of trial ready cases valued at
hundreds of millions of dollars and created innovative programs for early and efficient mediation
● Justice Belen is a frequent and sought after presenter of CLE programming on mediation,
arbitration, appeals and legal ethics for organizations such as ABA, PLI, NYCLA, NYCBA, HNBA,
AABANY, ABOTA, DANY, NYSTLA
