Supreme Court Weighs House of Detention Re-Opening
Following a 75-person rally (that included Comptroller Thompson, Senator Adams and Council Member James and Yassky) on the front steps of the State Supreme Court building yesterday morning, Justice Sylvia Hinds-Radix began hearing arguments from the City and from the community group called Stop BHOD which had filed a lawsuit arguing that the city acted…
Following a 75-person rally (that included Comptroller Thompson, Senator Adams and Council Member James and Yassky) on the front steps of the State Supreme Court building yesterday morning, Justice Sylvia Hinds-Radix began hearing arguments from the City and from the community group called Stop BHOD which had filed a lawsuit arguing that the city acted improperly by failing to alert the public about the reopening and planned expansion of the facility and not submitting its plan for an environmental impact analysis. According to the Brooklyn Eagle, The argument seemed to boil down to whether or not the city had technically closed the jail back in 2003, and thus would have to re-open it, or whether it had continued to operate it, albeit in a diminished capacity. This is a closed prison, argued Randy Mastro on behalf of Stop BHOD. Five years later, you have a transformed neighborhood. Countered the corporation counsel: There is a jail in Downtown Brooklyn. It exists. It has existed for 50 years. We need it. Both sides have until February 11 to submit additional documents to the court; in the meantime, the city will not house additional overnight prisoners in the facility.
Judge Hears Arguments For and Against ‘Reopening’ of Jail [Brooklyn Eagle]
Closing Bell: HOD Rally Coming Next Week [Brownstoner] GMAP
Inside the Brooklyn House of Detention [Brownstoner]
Not Enough Cash for the HOD [Brownstoner]
HOD Re-Opens for Business [Brownstoner]
Saying No to House of D [Brownstoner]
The BKHD has never been technically closed. They stopped housing inmates overnight but it has remained open to receive inmates coming from Rikers Island for court dates. They sallyport on the old criminal court building does not accomodate the Correction Department buses and hasn’t been able to for over 25 years. Therefore the inmates are unloaded at the BKHD and then walked into the criminal court building through the undrground tunnel. If the BKHD is opened to full capacity, it would probably house inmates post-arraignment/pre-bail and since arraignments are still held in the old criminal court building, it would make sense to house them there. The new building on Jay Street is not connected to the BKHD but the BKHD is a much shorter trip than the trip from Rikers Island. Rikers has 10 jails 5 of which are falling apart. The BKHD in its current state is in better condition than most of the jails on Rikers and better suited to meet the needs of an inmate population.
Just because a neighborhood has “improved” doesn’t mean that anthing that the improvers deem obselete should be banished to a not so improved neighborhood.
“they have wasted millions trying to update it but as we all can see, it is not remotely usable except for holding a dozen or so people in the base portion.”
and you base this conclusion on what evidence??????????
one cannot convert an office building into a jail. jails are pretty high-tech these days, they have to be built from scratch following very precise specifications. The old HOD is hopelessly obsolete. They have wasted millions trying to update it but as we all can see, it is not remotely usable except for holding a dozen or so people in the base portion. The argument is not really about nimbyism it is about the rational planning of a detention facility. I remain convinced that a new jail is necessary whether at this site or another. They cannot merely keep this old jail and try to reuse it. The cells are arranged in a split-level configuration that correction officers and their union simply will not tolerate. It is time to let go of the old eyesore and plan something better for the future. The lawsuit will hopefully be a catalyst in figuring a way through the bureaucratic mess that has lead to this stalemate.
One final thing, I so disagree with bxgirl today. this area was a pit fifteen years ago. There is no comparison to today. It has improved enormously and I think the new residents and businesses have made that possible. Why take that accomplishment away from them? Why the hate for the locals?
That certainly makes sense, but if anything they’ll add that to their list of supposed grievances. Don’t know why it pisses me off so much- I guess because they make it seem like the neighborhood was a hellhole until they moved in and made it all better. Talk about delusional.
It would likely cost more to do the MTA building as a jail – and I am not necessarily even advocating it (who could without really seeing the numbers) – but at least doing so COULD possibly be justified by saving significant money on transport costs (assuming you could utilize underground walkways) as well as being next to the KCDAs office and away from residential housing.
The point is that the D of Corrections spent 75M to upgrade the jail and then immediately mothballed it – which means to me that the burden of proof should be on DOC to 1. justify its reopening 2. that they must offer a very powerful case why the jail needs to be expanded to the tune of $440M when it is currently empty.
I suspect that such a case (for expansion) can not really be made and that the NIMBY folks would be far more successful if they attacked on this front rather than trying to keep the current jail from ever reopening.
Hmmm…. I may have to commit a crime. Where’s the bar??
fsrq- wouldn’t it cost that much to renovate the vacant MTA building, anyway? I’m not opposed to putting the HOD in another building if it’s more cost effective. I’m just grousing at the misinformation and whining the NIMBYs are tossing around, as if reopening the BHOD will destroy the neighborhood and put it back to the stone age. Like I said- I lived over there for @ 23 years, a block and a half away- the BHOD was not the problem.
bxgrl -for $440+M you likely could put all the defendants up at the Four Seasons and have money left over for the minibar.
BrklynSteve –
The old Brooklyn Criminal Court is still open but it is only really utilized for Arraignments (where they set bail after you are arrested). Such defendants are generally trasported by the precincts directly to the Courthouse and then ONLY if they cant make bail do they go to the jail.
So yes in that narrow sense (being trasported from arragnments to jail) the current location works BUT the average defendant will make dozens of trips to the courthouse after that and given the new location of Criminal Court (up Jay St) – they will have to be bussed at great expense.
Frankly the old criminal court is another boondogle – it is a gorgeous building being totally underutilized (arraignments is only the 1st fl) – and it costs a fortune to maintain. The city should be selling this building as well.
It is sad that we could put a sizable dent in next years deficits simply by selling 3 buildings that are essentially vacant or hardly used (MTA building on Jay, BHOD and Crimnal Court)- and the City doesnt have the will.
I wouldn’t want them to make the cells into luxury condos but bear in mind, the BHOD is a holding center, not a jail for convicted criminals. They are still, under the law, innocent. So it shouldn’t be Gitmo on Atlantic- which is inhuman.