Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed a bill that aims to address critical judge shortages in various portions of New York, including 14 new Supreme Court justices lawmakers distributed across the state’s 13 judicial districts according to need, and four Family Court judges in New York City along with two Family Court judges in Saratoga County and one in Nassau County.

During the pandemic, New York City’s family courts were so overwhelmed that they put cases they deemed non-essential on hold for a year. These included custody, visitation, child support, and adoption cases, according to bill sponsor state Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-Manhattan.