Desperately Proposing Alternative Uses for Jail
November 28, 2005, NY Daily News — A jail located smack in downtown Brooklyn is set to house inmates once again – but now housing and retail may be included on the Atlantic Ave. site. Despite protest from groups who want the Brooklyn House of Detention closed forever, the city can reopen the 11-story facility…
November 28, 2005, NY Daily News — A jail located smack in downtown Brooklyn is set to house inmates once again – but now housing and retail may be included on the Atlantic Ave. site. Despite protest from groups who want the Brooklyn House of Detention closed forever, the city can reopen the 11-story facility at any time. The jail – shuttered two years ago because of the declining population behind bars – will likely reopen in 2007 when an East River jail barge is closed for repairs. Faced with the prospect of an 815-bed jail reopening near hundreds of new luxury condo apartments and two trendy shopping and restaurant streets, residents and Borough President Marty Markowitz suggested the facility be integrated into a larger mixed-use development. “The idea was raised by the community if it was possible for some mixed-use design on an existing part of the facility we don’t need or on space that could be built on,” Antenen said. “We didn’t close the door on it.” Markowitz asked Pratt Institute architecture students to come up with possible designs for the jail/housing/shopping complex by next month.
Mixed Use Proposal for Jail [NY Daily News]
“East River jail barge is closed for repairs”
There’s an East River jail barge?
With the topic of this blog firmly in mind, I’m still having difficulty understanding why every square inch of property within 45 minutes of Mid-town is fair game for our redevelopment fantasies. These dreams invariably involve multistory malls or apartments. These projects house and feed overcompensated transients (inmate) enroute to Chappaqua (upstate) or the like.
I find myself searching for a worthy cultural use only to find that these uses are also well-represented in the area. So why not a jail? or a municipal building? or, god forbid, a high school?
The area surrounding the House of Detention in particular has quite enough apartment buildings, restaurants and retail for the moment. That area has always been, and continues to be a pretty bland and flavorless area with a decidely Manhattan-like lack of residential or commercial identity.
Jail. Why not?
we finally know what iceberg has been smoking. sheds new light on past comments.
1:12 is correct–city jails are for specific type of prisoner, usually awaiting trial or some other administrative reason hasn’t been convicted or assigned–also, no sense for city to send municipal employees out of state–why should NJ benefit from our tax dollars? A city or a borough has to have certain functions performed and the residents of the municipality have the right to relatively easy access.
most of the prisoners would be awaiting trial or at trial. believe me, there are vastly larger prisons upstate.
board of ed was sold to walentas. some people think the center of brooklyn govt should be located in brooklyn.
The jail itself, to me anyway, its just sort of non-descript, not too ugly, nor really attractive, its just sorta there. Tearing it down would cost the city money, and then even more money if new jail space was needed. It does not mame much sense in that regard to destroy it. It is also right near the downtown brooklyn court houses which makes it much easier and safer from a security perspective to transport prisioners back and forth for court appearnces, should the jail be re-activated. I think that the ugly two and three story bail bond buildings are much ugly-ier and if anything needs to be torn down, we should start with those structures.
Makes no sense that it was closed – declining population or not as it must cost a fortune to bus all the inmates over from Rikers for every single court appearance.
It would help if the upper floors of the building were actually cleaned.
I have to say though, I really dont get how people bought condos looking directly into the jails windows – I mean if you forget to put your shades down when changing there will be no question that your neighbors (inmates) will be home.
I’ve commented here before that I think the House of Detention is actually a really nice building. No, I’m not kidding. Remove the horrible pink marble visitors center and all the glass block in the windows, and you’ve got a pretty nice piece of architecture. No matter what happens, I hope they keep the building…
I don’t think a well-run jail is significant detriment to community. It is eyesore today because of neglect of outside- scaffolding, incompleted work. Other eyesores are gas stations,
car lots, Boymelgreens project that is taking forever and a day to build even the foundation(corner Smith/Atlantic),
and the hideous flashing electric billboard on the Courthouse apts(Atlantic/Court) courtesy of Walentas of Dumbo fame (what was he thinking here?).