There will be a rally and press conference this Friday at City Hall hosted by Stop BHOD, the lead activist group in the fight against the City’s proposed expansion of the Brooklyn House of Detention. From the BHOD statement:

On March 20th, the Department of Corrections will hold a budget hearing which will cover their plans to spend $1.2 billion on building new jails in the Bronx and Brooklyn. In response, Stop BHOD and Communities in Unity will join forces with community groups and elected officials in front of City Hall to send a unified message to the City that New Yorkers will not support wasteful spending on unnecessary jails at a moment of serious financial crisis. We hope you will join us Friday, March 20th at 11:30 AM for this important rally to stop the City from wasting $1.2B of our taxpayer money on jails we don’t need.

We expect to hear from Council Members David Yassky and Letitia James, and are also hopeful that Comptroller Thompson will speak as well. We are also very excited to have speakers from our Bronx partner Communities in Unity, who we have partnered with in solidarity against the City’s plans for a new Bronx jail in Hunts Point.

Come out on Friday March 20th and join us in telling the City that more jails are not the answer. Fight for Rehabilitation, not incarceration!

WHAT: Stop BHOD rally
WHEN: Friday, March 20, 2009 at 11.30 a.m.
WHERE: City Hall