House of Detention Back on Radar, Bigtime
While the possibility has been floated a few times over the past year or so, today’s NY Times article on the likely reopening of the Brooklyn House of Detention on Atlantic Avenue in downtown Brooklyn takes the situation from Def Con 1 to Def Con 3 in a single day. Evidently, the inmate population has…
While the possibility has been floated a few times over the past year or so, today’s NY Times article on the likely reopening of the Brooklyn House of Detention on Atlantic Avenue in downtown Brooklyn takes the situation from Def Con 1 to Def Con 3 in a single day. Evidently, the inmate population has been swelling much faster than anticipated and, if current trends persist, could reach a tipping point by Summer that would necessitate reopening the 760-bed jail. Not surprisingly, some residents ain’t thrilled by the idea. “We really would prefer it not to open,” said Sue Wolfe, president of the Boerum Hill Association, adding, “It hurts the merchants; it hurts the people that live and work here.” How much of The Smith is already sold and what kind of impact will this news have? It’s our sense that everyone knew this was a possibility but that most didn’t think the city would really throw such a wrench into the gentrification boom.
Brooklyn Jail May Reopen [NY Times]
i call BS on anon 10:59 am–no broken windows on state bet. smith and hoyt. i lived on that block for 10 years and know of one single break-in on the block in that time. ONE.
In addition, they are still processing perp at courthouse so that’s why bondmen still in hood
Ahhh. The re-opening of the newly renovated Brooklyn “Hilton”!!!!
A boffo event, 2 bee sure.
It’s a city building. It was mothballed and worked on when the incarceration rates were down. Corrections always said that they’d use the building for its intended purpose if they needed it.
And they do.
Get over it.
It’s a jail in an area of courthouses and other government buildings.
All the whining in the world ain’t going to make it go away.
Clean it up, take away the scaffolding, fix the sidewalks … and yes .. it looks like any other new apartment complex. With good security.
I think would impact boreum place, the smith and the new development at old mobile station.
To anon 9:49
One possible answer to your question is that the people in the article who so fear the re-opening of the jail are the smae people who really don’t give a darn about those who are displaced when a neighborhood is gentrified. It is the same elitist, colonialist attitude of yuppies when the “discover” a new area where people have been living for generations who are then forced out because they can no longer afford the rent. It’s not hard to see this new fear of the jail as racist since the visitors who will be the ones walking on the street will not be the kind who are spending 1 mil to live in a luxury project high rise. This also all reminds me of the tenants in the renovated church who got upset that a church took up residency in the common room. The jail was here before – as were all the courts – and anyone with forethought should have realized it could open again.
i always thought it was cool the way wives and girlfriends would stand on the other side of atlantic avenue making complex hand signals at the jail, communicating with their guys inside. anyone else ever see that?
BkBorn – No I was saying if it wasnt a jail…..
BUT retil for ground floor of jail was suggested by some (just not me) see:
http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2005/12/the_post_looks.html
Anon 10:34 – could you please explain what “the wannabes” means
David:
You want retail in the ground floor of a jail?
Wives visiting their husbands can go to Victoria’s secret while waiting for visiting hours. Just released inmates can rush to Chili’s for a post-incarceration Awesome Onion Blossom. Kids can go to Chuck E Cheese for a birthday party and the jail can set up viewing area for their locked up dads behind bullet proof.
Genius.
I have lived around here for a number of years, and can think of only two negatives associated with the jail. One — I have heard that women sunbathing on the roof tops of buildings nearby (like the buildings on Smith between Atlantic and Pacific) would get catcalls sometimes from prisoners, and Two — I personally have seen an inordinate number of broken windows on State Street between Smith and Hoyt (although this might be more attributable to people going to or more likely getting out of Criminal Court at odd hours and needing some quick cash).
Anyway, I am surprised there are only 760 beds in that place — it seems bigger than that.