Parole Facility Planned Next Door to St. Ann’s School

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is planning to open a major parole facility at 147 Pierrepont Street, a Ratner-owned property located between the lower and middle school buildings of St. Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights. The new center, which would consolidate two existing parole offices in the Downtown area, is slated to serve 1,700 Federal parolees and be manned by armed guards, according to an email from a member of the school community. A call to Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez’s office revealed that she and other public officials are trying to schedule a press conference at some point in the future to protest the location of the new facility. They better get moving: The new space (pictured on the jump) is supposed to be open for business as early as mid-August, just in time to welcome the kids back to school. UPDATE: This statement just in from Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez: Locating a parole office just steps away from a school is extremely troubling. Anything that puts the security of our children at risk is unacceptable. Before all other considerations, their safety must be the top priority.GMAP

May 21, 2012 | 02:16 PM