The proposed new Borough-Based Jail System Facility in Brooklyn

PUBLIC HEARING:
Thursday, September 20th at 6 PM
PS133, the William A. Butler School
610 Baltic Street and 4th Avenue

The Environmental Assessment Statement (EAS), Positive Declaration and Draft Scope of Work (DSoW) for the Borough Based Jail System
In this public hearing, the Department of Correction (DOC) will present current information on the proposal and solicit comments on the scope of the environmental assessment.

Please submit a statement for the record at the meeting or come and listen to the presentation and submit written testimony by October 15, 2018.

Send your comments to Howard Fiedler at 75-20 Astoria Boulevard, Suite 160, East Elmhurst, NY 11370 or emailed to boroughplan@doc.nyc.gov

Our Statement:
In April 2017, The Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform released a report known as the “Lippman Commission Report” that outlined compelling reasons to close the Rikers Island jail complex, as a necessary step in reforming NYC’s criminal justice system.

Rikers Island is a stain on our great City. It leaves its mark on everyone it touches: the correction officers working back-to-back shifts under dangerous conditions, the inmates waiting for their day in court in an inhumane and violent environment, the family members forced to miss work and travel long distances to see their loved ones, the attorneys who cannot easily visit their clients to prepare a defense, and the taxpayers who devote billions of dollars each year to keep the whole dysfunctional apparatus running year after year. Put simply, Rikers Island is a 19th century solution to a 21st century problem. (Lippman, p02)

As a result of the commission’s deliberations, the report outlined reforms that “cut New York City’s jail population in half over the next ten years, allowing for the closure of Rikers and its replacement by a smaller system of state-of-the-art jails—one for each borough—situated near the courthouses they serve.”

In order to maximize the chance for successful siting of the new jail facilities, the commission made clear the need for transparency in the planning process:

The Commission believes that the siting and planning process for any jail facility should be as transparent as possible. The City should create platforms for local residents and organizations to voice their concerns and feedback. It is in the City’s best interests to begin conversations with the community as early as possible, before the formal legal processes begin. Above all, imparting a sense of trust to the community is vital: the City should have regular and reliable contact with residents, and maintain a visible presence, particularly when facing challenging conversations or meetings.  (Lippman, p92)

In August 2018, The City of New York, through the New York City Department of Correction (DOC), released A ROADMAP TO CLOSING RIKERS, its project proposal for a borough-based jail system that would develop jails in four boroughs.
The Cobble Hill Association has four primary concerns with the city’s proposal:

1. The process has lacked transparency: In contrast to the commission’s recommendations, “conversations with the community” have not occurred prior to the development of the city’s plans. As a result, our community lacks trust in this process. It’s not too late for the city to take the steps necessary to build community trust.
2. The proposal fails to include a jail for Staten Island: In an obvious omission in meeting the commission’s recommendations, the city’s proposal inexplicably fails to recommend a jail facility on Staten Island, thus forcing Staten Island detainees and their families to make the difficult trek to Brooklyn. How does that accomplish the goal of helping family members who are “forced to miss work and travel long distances to see their loved ones [and their] attorneys who cannot easily visit their clients to prepare a defense”? A jail must be built on Staten Island.
3. The Brooklyn Jail would be grossly oversized: In part to accommodate Staten Island’s entire prison population and to meet multiple and complex programmatic needs, the proposed Brooklyn jail would be almost nine times larger (1.4 million square feet) than the current jail and at over 430 feet tall, would tower over the adjacent historic districts of Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill with their 50-foot height limits. For a new jail to be palatable to the community, a jail must be built on Staten Island, and the height and bulk of the proposed Brooklyn jail must be substantially reduced.
4. The oversized jail would have a dramatically negative impact on the surrounding area: The new jail would bring thousands of new workers and visitors to our already traffic-choked area, many by car, every day. During roughly the same time frame in which this new jail would be built, our area will already be afflicted by a ten-year rebuilding of the BQE, a mere four blocks to the west. The city must engage in a rigorous EIS process.

The Cobble Hill Association strongly believes that these four concerns could be met if the city has the political will to follow the Lippman Commission’s recommendations for a transparent process and a jail in every borough.

Please look at the documents:
The documents can be accessed and downloaded through CEQR Access:  http://www.nyc.gov/18doc001y-borough-based-jail-system

The Lippman Commission Report can be found here: https://www.morejustnyc.org/about-us/