This morning the Eagle takes a look at what might have been for the Brooklyn House of Detention and appears to be quite wooed by the plan Hamlin Ventures; Times Equities, and Common Ground Community submitted: “the proposal called for a different approach to handling low-level, non-violent offenders, who constitute the overwhelming population of this facility, while adding 490 units of affordable and market-rate housing, plus retail, all in a stunning physical environment that disguises the existence of a corrections facility.” The city called the group’s proposal, as rendered above, “unacceptable,” perhaps because it didn’t include enough jail beds (the Dept. of Corrections wanted 1,500; we’re unsure how many beds Hamlin/Time Equities were planning). The “redevelopment of the Brooklyn House of Detention provides a unique opportunity to introduce new assumptions into the criminal justice system in New York rather than just build new beds, says Abby Hamlin of Hamlin Ventures, which is apparently still lobbying for some version of the proposal to be accepted. Is there no better way to meet the need of the Department of Corrections for jail beds, improve services to detainees and their families, recognize the concerns of the community, and leverage this prime location for additional public benefit?
City Failed to Acknowledge Plan for Brooklyn Jail [Brooklyn Eagle]
A Look at the (Rejected) House of D Condo-Retail Plan [Brownstoner]