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November 19, 2008

Saying No to House of D

h-o-d-1108.jpgNow that the city has given Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights the finger by re-opening and expanding the House of Detention, pols like David Yassky and William Thompson are fighting back with a lawsuit; you can throw your opinion into the ring as well. An online petition has been started here. Update: Gothamist reports that "there is no timetable" for the reopening and expansion.




Posted by Brownstoner at 3:40 PM | Comments (27)
Categories: Crime, Quality of Life

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Comments

"Now that the city has given Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights the finger by re-opening the House of Detention"

Brownstoner could you please explain this comment. The HOD was always located in Downtown Brooklyn and it was always open to processing inmates.

Thank you for your response.

The What

Someday this war is gonna end..

Posted by: Return of The What at November 19, 2008 3:58 PM

Sure. Unless you're a bail bonds man, this is bad for local business, and it's bad for local property values. It's a silly place for a jail and poor allocation of resources. The city could sell this land and build a state of the art facility in a less residential neighborhood.

Posted by: brownstoner at November 19, 2008 4:13 PM

I say yes. It's a Brooklyn landmark. How dare you? D-Block!!!

Posted by: DOW8000SP800 at November 19, 2008 4:14 PM

"bad for local property values"

Perspective.

Posted by: DOW8000SP800 at November 19, 2008 4:15 PM

Somebody's feeling a little NIMBY today, huh?

Posted by: shillstoner at November 19, 2008 4:20 PM

How can it be NIMBY if it's not in your own backyard? This is quite a ways from Clinton Hill...

Posted by: brownstoner at November 19, 2008 4:22 PM

I thought you considered all of Brownstone Brooklyn to be your backyard, Brownstoner.

Posted by: shillstoner at November 19, 2008 4:25 PM

BS you are absolutely wrong. The HOD has been there all this time and property values have soared. And not because it was closed -- values went up while it was open.

And in what world does selling a building (to be demolished)that would cost nearly a billion to build elsewhere plus higher ongoing transportation costs and, likely personnel (moving them more) costs, be a good deal for anyone??? The only people who are really opposed are developers and those newbies who were ignorant of the area. Ask anyone who has lived in the area for 10-15 years. Yes, the area has improved -- but the fact that the HOD was there helped! It made the area less expensive, so land was cheaper, condos coudl be built that were a bargain compared with Manhattan.

Posted by: BH76 at November 19, 2008 4:30 PM

"The city could sell this land and build a state of the art facility in a less residential neighborhood."

- Pay double for the new property, then pay triple for the building costs - because the city usually gets ripped off. And then pay for the extra transportation and guards to ferry inmates to and from the courts. When they could be more easily escorted from the jail. Sounds nifty!

I don't know about you but I "love" all the inmate buses lined up on Court Street in front of the bagel store in the morning.

Posted by: cobblehiller at November 19, 2008 4:31 PM

How about a petition saying Yassky, Joann Simon, et al are a bunch of sorry whiners and those of us that have lived many years in area with HOD don't have a problem with it?

Posted by: Petebklyn at November 19, 2008 4:35 PM

It just makes sense to me to have a jail near the courts. It made sense then, it makes sense now. The inmate buses on Court Street can't be helping property values, can they?

This whole thing just smacks of NIMBY garbage. Do you guys remember when they wanted to do the retail sneakers and coffee stores on the ground level - LOL! Fools.

Posted by: cobblehiller at November 19, 2008 4:39 PM

"It's a silly place for a jail"

It's next to the courthouse and near a transit hub for lawyers/family to visit the inmates. Seems optimally located to me.

Posted by: NorthHeights at November 19, 2008 4:42 PM

I am all for putting prisoners here - in fact stack them one on top of another for all I care BUT

I am adamantly opposed to spending another HALF A BILLION dollars on expanding the facility (after spending 70M only a few years ago - and then not using it) - there is no shortage of jail space currently so I fail to see why HALF A BILLION is needed. Not to mention that the geniuses didnt link the jail to the new courthouse so NO MATTER WHAT - prisoners still have to be bussed to Brooklyn Courtrooms.

Jail=sure BUT more $ for recently refurbished jail = NO F'ing WAY

Posted by: fsrg at November 19, 2008 4:43 PM

Excellent point NH.

Posted by: cobblehiller at November 19, 2008 4:44 PM

This is my back yard, and I have no problem saying I'd rather it not re-open if at all possible. I don't know how bad it is for property values, but anyone who says it's good has to be some sort of stakeholder. I don't see it.

Posted by: spnder at November 19, 2008 4:46 PM

keep in mind that HOD primary function is for people that are awaiting trial or serving short sentences - some who can't raise bail.
Not a place for those convicted and serving years - they go upstate.
But I do agree that spending gazillion $$ to expand will probably be a boondoggle.

Posted by: Petebklyn at November 19, 2008 4:50 PM

I don't know if it's "giving the finger" or not, but it sure ain't a love poem to the neighborhood.

Posted by: lowintheheights at November 19, 2008 4:54 PM

For a year or so after I moved to Brooklyn (May, 2007) I would go to Atlantic Ave for a lot of restaurants in Boerum Hill and until I started seeing the threads on here that dealt with the HOD I never would have known I was always walking past it.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 19, 2008 5:07 PM

this is ridiculous. did you people not realize you were buying property or opening businesses in a neighborhood with a jail? it may have been closed for a while, but we always knew it had the potential to reopen. talking about tearing the building down, relocating it, and refurbishing this building as a school would cost a ridiculous amount of money that the city has better things to spend on.

it would be a different story if they were talking about opening a new jail here, but it's a little absurd to be bitching about something you bought into.

Posted by: funkymonkey at November 19, 2008 5:31 PM

I've lived in CG for 17 years and I have no problem with this. It's a non-issue.

Posted by: Susan Elkins at November 19, 2008 5:42 PM


"this is bad for local business"

Not according to the restaurants located nearby. In fact, when the HOD closed the first time, many complained that they had lost a steady source of business. I agree with the others - it's a non-issue.

Posted by: East New York at November 19, 2008 5:47 PM

This is the most suitable place for a jail. It's located in downtown Brooklyn, has been so for decades, is adjacent to courthouses and substance abuse treatment programs for offenders mandated to rehabilitation, and is an existing structure. Seems like a no brainer to me.

Plus, it's going to happen, so why bother to complain about something that can't be stopped?

Posted by: Big Jugs at November 19, 2008 6:03 PM

Reckon it's indifferent to property values 'cause there's no real impact. Except for a few more cops and visitors eating pizza on court street. Was no big deal the last time it was open.

But what about the expansion? What's the dealy on that? Any renderings on this thing? Looks pretty butt-ugly now. Needs some nice big windows, green space, nice low fences . . .

;-)

Posted by: Johnny at November 19, 2008 6:28 PM

This is a post simply to get responses - it has been argued to death on this and other websites. The jail is where it should be - near the courthouse and near major transportation hubs. Posts like this by Jon Brownstoner remind me that this site is a profit making business which makes money off the number of hits. Damn I just made another dollar for Jon!

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at November 19, 2008 8:15 PM

Was there an online petition posted for people opposed to the Bedford armory becoming the main intake center for all of NYC's homeless men?

Posted by: Just Wondering at November 19, 2008 8:46 PM

Thank you Brownstoner for your response.

The What

Someday this war is gonna end...

Posted by: Return of The What at November 20, 2008 12:37 AM

Brownstoner -- You've been snowed by local groups like "stop bhod." People have a knee-jerk reaction to the idea that there's a jail in their midst. They think, if there's a jail, there must be criminals, and criminals are bad, so jails are bad. But the fact remains that this neighborhood has thrived over the last couple of decades in spite of the jail. Property values have risen. Local stores and restaurants and bars, etc., have opened and closed and opened again and done quite well. The worst thing about the jail, is that it interupts the flow of commercial storefronts, which wouldn't be quite as bad if that terrible rental building at Atlantic and Court didn't do the exact same thing.

Yassky and Thompson and Squadron are in the pockets of a few rich folks who live on State St. This issue is stupid and ought to go away.

Posted by: mattt at November 20, 2008 2:17 PM

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