Mayor Nixes High-Rise Chinatown Jail at 80 Centre Street
80 Centre Street, Photo: Karlin Chan
The proposal for a high-rise jail in Chinatown ended in major defeat yesterday. Mayor de Blasio threw in the towel, and is no longer considering the proposed 430-foot prison complex at 80 Centre Street.
Nixing this site is owed largely to purported problems relocating the main occupant here, the city’s marriage bureau. The Mayor’s press team pushed out the following statement yesterday afternoon:
It’s crucial that we close Rikers Island and transition to a smaller, safer borough-based jail system as quickly as possible. We found that the challenges associated with relocating various offices at 80 Centre Street would make siting a jail there far more complicated and more costly than we originally anticipated. As we met with the community, it became clear that the original site we considered better addressed their needs without the costly challenges created by using 80 Centre, and we are reverting our site selection to the Manhattan Detention Complex.
So, this administration setback means that the city is revisiting the Manhattan Detention Complex, nicknamed The Tombs. That location at 125 White Street was previously deemed too small, but officials are now contemplating demolition and building a larger facility.
As reported, Mayor de Blasio remains committed to closing Rikers Island and relocating operations to a decentralized “community-based” jail system over the next decade. His so-called “roadmap to closing Rikers” will see new jail facilities throughout the five boroughs.
From its inception, though, the glassy proposal for 80 Centre Street received vociferous backlash from the Chinatown community. Activists rallied and protested at length.
The Tombs
However, the architect of much of the opposition, local Karlin Chan, tells us that it’s premature to celebrate anything.
“The fight is not over,” Chan quipped. “Rikers does not need to be closed, as the city can achieve its prison reform goals by policy change and building new facilities on Rikers which is currently at half capacity. The mainstream media has kept CC Intro-940 out of news but it calls for forming a 10-person commission to study the feasibility of renovating Rikers island over closing it.”
Recent Stories
‘Last Light’ Enters Cashless Controversy with Bowery Rooftop Bar
The Bowery now has its newest rooftop bar, courtesy of Sister City. Last Light debuted last night on the eleventh floor of the new Ace-related hotel at 225 Bowery. Its mantra seems to be “sky and spirits,” serving cocktails, organic wines, local craft beer, and food from ground-level restaurant, Floret. The newcomer accommodates 200 bar-goers […]
Hair Throne’s Three-Floor ‘Salon Mansion’ Opens on Rivington Street
On the throne is now 60 Orchard Street, whose commercial condo unit was heretofore dormant for four years. Indeed, nothing much happened here since the Poppington gallery, founded by former music mogul Damon Dash, faded in 2015. (City Marshals seized the joint.) There was a brief tease of a laundry startup here, but that seemed […]
Shooting in the Vladeck Houses Yesterday Leaves One Man Injured
A shooting in the Vladeck Houses (NYCHA) last night left one man injured, police said. Shortly before 5:00pm yesterday, multiple shots were fired near the intersection of Grand and Jackson Streets. A group of men was reportedly seen fleeing the gunfire, leaving one injured with a bullet wound to the lower abdomen. We are told that, […]
Amidst SoHo-NoHo Rezoning, Crosby Street Cardboard City Proves Need for City Planning Spotlight
Dueling photographs of a single Crosby Street stoop reveal a tale of two perspectives of life in SoHo. A sight that exposes the real need for City Planning to obtain “a 360-degree analysis that includes all points of view,” which it hopes to gain during review of the neighborhood’s zoning regulations. Back in February, the […]
Rivington Tattoo Calls it Quits After 8 Years
Thanks to Essex Crossing and the Matzo Factory condos, the east end of Rivington Street is turning tony real quick. The upscaling doesn’t leave much room for a place like Rivington Tattoo, which is closing down after eight years in business. “After 8 years, we are moving on, another victim of a changing city,” ownership […]
