Malaika is a native New Yorker and a long-standing member of the Harlem community where she is raising her two young daughters as a single parent. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College (BA) and Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law (JD) Malaika has worked in the private sector, as a paralegal, a summer associate and a law clerk, and in the public sector, as a court attorney in Housing Court. Malaika presently serves as a Housing Court Judge after her appointment by then Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks in 2019.
As the daughter of civil rights litigators, Malaika spent portions of her youth as a courtroom observer and she saw the judiciary’s ability to directly impact the lives of litigants. Her family worked in public service and she was happy to continue that work first as a court attorney and now as a Housing Court Judge.
As a Housing Court Judge, Malaika is keenly aware of the effect her rulings have on a person’s life, and she issues her rulings with thoughtfulness and empathy. Malaika’s fourteen (14) year tenure in Housing Court has allowed her to meet New Yorkers from all walks of life. Malaika’s experiences, both in Court and in life, have prepared her to serve in Civil Court. With her even keeled temperament and with compassion, Malaika will work to do justice every day for those who seek it in the People’s Court.
