Joint Pains

City Hall Hints at Scaled-Back Plan for Lower Manhattan Jail, While Pushing Ahead on Plan for New Prison Downtown

A rendering that illustrates the bulk and shape of the 45-story, 1.27 million-square-foot prison complex that Mayor Bill de Blasio proposes to erect in Lower Manhattan. City Hall is now reportedly considering a scaled-back version of this proposal.

The administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio is reportedly considering a scaled-back version of its controversial plan to erect a new, 45-story prison in Lower Manhattan, as part of a wider scheme to close the City’s notorious detention complex on Rikers Island, and replace it with four, large “borough-based jail” facilities — one in each county, except Staten Island.

In a story first reported by Crain’s, City Hall is said to be weighing a smaller version of this plan, although no specifics about the changes in design have been made available by the Mayor’s office.

Anthony Notaro, chairman of Community Board 1 (CB1), said, “CB1 has not heard any official statement on the height of the proposed borough-based jail. However, without knowing any details, we would laud the City for listening to residents and businesses, since they will bear the downgrade in their quality of life. We call on the administration to sit with our neighbors in a transparent process to plan for this project.”

Patrick Kennell, who chairs CB1’s Land Use, Zoning and Economic Development Committee, added, “any effort to reduce the height and bulk of the proposed jail complex is certainly a good thing. But that’s not nearly enough to address the many other serious problems with the Manhattan borough-based jail as proposed, which the Community Board detailed in its resolution on this proposal.  I hope City officials find the courage to dig deeper to do right by our community.

Nancy Kong, a Downtown community leader who has spearheaded local opposition to the plan through the grassroots organization Neighbors United Below Canal, and helped building a City-wide coalition in the group Boroughs United, criticized the Mayor, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, and City Council member Margaret Chin for not having, “the courage or fortitude to work with the community and criminal justice advocates — the real advocates and not ones positioned to benefit financially from this $11 billion jail/real estate development and privatization plan — to truly come up with a viable solution that begins today, not 10 years from today. ”

Ms. Kong added, “size was not the only issue with the siting of these facilities. The manner in which these sites were selected was negotiated by elected officials and predetermined, prior to communities being informed by the City. The City’s process to certify this plan was undemocratic and a farce.”

She continued, “the lack of accountability and ability to address the current conditions in Rikers and across all New York City detention centers today speak volumes about the lack of leadership, vision and understanding of real criminal justice reforms.” She characterized the plan as, “tone-deaf. Investing $11 billion to $33 billion in jails instead of investing in communities, in education, in mental health and drug treatment facilities, in diversion/re-entry programs fixes nothing.”

These developments follow a massive Lower Manhattan rally last weekend, in which more than 1,000 demonstrators called upon the City to halt the jail plan, as well as an alternate plan, floated earlier this month by a coalition of volunteer architects and engineers based in Lower Manhattan, who propose to refashion Rikers Island into a campus-like setting with medical and mental health facilities, as well as gardens, vocational training centers, and ferry access. Advocates say this vision could be implemented for approximately $5.6 billion

Rejecting both the opposition and the proposed alternatives, City Hall has pushed aggressively to implement its plan for shuttering Rikers Island and building new detention facilities in four boroughs. Last Thursday, the City Council enacted a bill designating Rikers Island a “public space” and banning its use for correctional facilities after 2026, the year by which the de Blasio plan envisions closing the jail there. And the Council is slated to vote on the overall package of legislation necessary to move forward with the de Blasio plan this Thursday. A wide majority of Council members have already indicated their support for the project, making its passage appear likely.