Community Board 8 calls on de Blasio to
reconsider Four Borough Detention Plan
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.16 COM | APRIL 30-MAY 6, 2021
into a corrections center
with space for 1,510
prisoner beds. The block
of 82nd Street between
126th and 132nd streets
would be de-mapped to
allow for the facility’s
development.
The planned facilities
will also provide a safer
environment to work
and will allow people in
jail to remain closer to
their loved ones, as well
as offer quality health,
education, visitation and
recreational services
that will help people
reintegrate once they
return to their communities,
according to de
Blasio.
While CB 8 acknowledged
that the present
situation on Rikers Island
is “unacceptable
and that there is an
urgent need to replace
the facilities, as well as
implement jail reform
practices,” they noted
the financial cost of the
project, the impact of
COVID-19 on the city’s
budget, and the design
planning process that
has been delayed.
“It is probable that
the cost of $8.7 billion,
which does not include
financing costs, will
cost significantly more,”
the board said in the letter.
“There are many
other vital capital projects
that will not get approved
due to this massive
plan … the plan is
far too expensive particularly
given the current
financial realities.”
According to the
board, the project is two
years behind schedule
and the design planning
process has not yet
begun with a projected
completed date now
pushed to 2028.
As crime has been increasing,
the board cited
a 38.2 percent increase
in homicides from 2019
to 2020. Despite early
releases in response to
COVID-19, and the major
bail reforms initiated by
New York state, the jail
population stood at 4,749
individuals in November
2020, according to the
board. The capacity for
the inmate population is
approximately 3,544.
While the Queens
Detention Center was
approved to be a 23-story
building and there is an
option for it to become
a 33-story building with
rooftop mechanicals, the
board said this has become
a concern, recommending
that detention
centers are not built as
high rises in dense, lowrise
communities.
“This should be done
at a far lower cost and
still meet the desired
goal of improving and
modernizing conditions
in the jails,” the board
said.
Additionally, the
board said there has
been no plan presented
for the eventual evacuation
of a 23- to 33-story
building in the event of
an emergency, such as
a fire or the equivalent.
While the original parking
garage called for 676
parking spots, the board
said it has been reduced
to a minimum of 600
spots due to budget concerns.
The underground
parking on the original
plan has been reduced
from 605 to 300 spaces.
“The parking facilities
will be completed
before the final jail size
is determined, potentially
resulting in fewer
spaces than needed in a
community that already
struggles with parking,”
the board said.
During the ULURP
process, CB 8 made
comments and passed
a resolution due to the
proposed construction
being adjacent to the
border between CB 8
and CB 9. Following a
meeting that occurred
between representatives
from Design and
Construction (DDC) and
representatives of CB 9
on March 25, CB 8 said
that they requested to
be included in future
scheduled meetings.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at
(718) 260–4526.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Queens Community
Board 8 is calling on
Mayor Bill de Blasio to
cancel the Four Borough
Detention Plan in
recommendation of a
phased replacement of
the Rikers Island facility
to make use of available
space on the island.
In its letter to the
mayor on April 14, the
board cited several circumstances
that have
arisen since the initial
proposal to create a
more “modern community
based jail system
that is smaller, safer and
fairer” in each borough,
was announced by the de
Blasio administration in
August 2018.
The $8.7 billion
proposal, which was
approved by the City
Council in a historic
vote in October 2019 to
shut down the 84-yearold
facility, would redevelop
the dormant
Queens Detention Complex,
located at 126-02
82nd Ave., adjacent to
the Queens Criminal
Courthouse.The nearby
municipal parking lot
would be transformed
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