Yesterday, the Brooklyn House of Detention in Boerum Hill was once again processing perps, after a five-year hiatus courtesy of the Bloomberg administration, since they no longer needed extra beds for Rikers prisoners. True, crime is up, so maybe that's why the administration has shifted, now lobbying for the construction a $450 million tower on top of building, on the corner of Atlantic and Smith (the NY Daily News says the reason is the renovation of the Brooklyn courthouse, slated to start in January). This will allow them to double its capacity, to 1,500 prisoners (some cells will be reduced at Rikers Island). Local politicians didn't hesitate to condemn the move. Councilman David Yassky and state Senator-elect Daniel Squadron were among those calling it a "first step in a backdoor attempt to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on a large new jail and radically shift city corrections policy to favor incarceration over rehabilitation for prisoners."
Critics Howl as Jail Reopens Cells [NY Daily News] GMAP
