Listen to the Audio of Mayor’s Closed Door Meeting on High-Rise Chinatown Jail

The Tombs

Mayor de Blasio spent last Tuesday morning in Chinatown at the behest of Councilwoman Margaret Chin to discuss revised plans for the post-Rikers community jail program, and how it will affect the neighborhood.

The closed-door session was off-limits to the public at large, with only a handful of guests invited from select neighborhood organizations. (There was a press component, too.) Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and State Senator Brian Kavanagh were all present. Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou also attended but walked out “for two reasons,” she told us in an email.

“It wasn’t a transparent or accessible meeting for the community; and I was the only elected that wasn’t allowed to speak,” Niou said.

Opponents, meanwhile, further cite this meeting as another example of stifling transparency on this matter.

Closed as the meeting may have been, audio of the meeting surfaced days later, thanks to the efforts of the Mott Street Block Association. So, take a listen below…

Meanwhile, the city reportedly is moving forward with redeveloping the Manhattan Detention Complex at 125 White Street. Plans are for the ULURP to begin by March 25 with the certification of the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Thereafter, Community Board 1 will have 60 days to review before the plan is punted to Gale Brewer’s office for review.