While the possibility has been floated a few times over the past year or so, today’s NY Times article on the likely reopening of the Brooklyn House of Detention on Atlantic Avenue in downtown Brooklyn takes the situation from Def Con 1 to Def Con 3 in a single day. Evidently, the inmate population has been swelling much faster than anticipated and, if current trends persist, could reach a tipping point by Summer that would necessitate reopening the 760-bed jail. Not surprisingly, some residents ain’t thrilled by the idea. “We really would prefer it not to open,” said Sue Wolfe, president of the Boerum Hill Association, adding, “It hurts the merchants; it hurts the people that live and work here.” How much of The Smith is already sold and what kind of impact will this news have? It’s our sense that everyone knew this was a possibility but that most didn’t think the city would really throw such a wrench into the gentrification boom.
Brooklyn Jail May Reopen [NY Times]