A rendering of the parking garage and community space at the site of the future Kew Gardens jail. Courtesy of the mayor’s offi ce
Construction underway on Kew Gardens jail
BY BILL PARRY
The city is moving ahead
with its controversial borough
based prison in Kew
Gardens.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
on Friday, June 25,
that construction is underway
on the parking garage and
community space alongside
the new jail that will rise adjacent
to Borough Hall and the
Queens Criminal Courthouse.
The construction marks
the first major activity in
the borough-based jails program,
an $8.3 billion effort to
construct four new, smaller,
more humane jails in Queens,
Manhattan, Brooklyn and
the Bronx, to replace the jail
complex on Rikers Island.
“Today we move one step
closer to our goal of a fairer
and more equitable jail system
for all New Yorkers,” de Blasio
said. “Closing Rikers Island
will make our city stronger
and more just, and I’m proud
to deliver a system that better
reflects this city’s values.”
The new 105-foot structure
will house a 25,000-squarefoot,
two-level, multipurpose
community space, plus more
than 600 public parking spots.
The structure is being built
on the west side of the existing
parking lot at Union Turnpike
between 126th Street and
132nd Street.
The east side of the parking
lot will remain open during
construction, providing 140
parking spots to the community
until work is complete in
early 2023.
The adjacent Queens Detention
Complex will begin
demolition during the garage
construction and then the new
Queens jail will be built spanning
the east side of the parking
lot and the former Queens
Detention Complex site.
“This project is part of a
once-in-many-generations opportunity
to build a smaller
and more humane justice
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system that includes four facilities
grounded in dignity
and respect, offering better
connections to and space for
families, attorneys, courts,
medical and mental health
care, education, therapeutic
programming and service
providers,” NYC Department
of Design and Construction
Commissioner Jaimie Torres-
Springer said. “This is a great
milestone in the boroughbased
jails program, and we
continue to seek and evaluate
candidates for the designbuild
teams that will create
the program’s other facilities.”
The 886-bed Queens jail
will be designed with a maximum
height of 195 feet and
will house female detainees in
a separate facility within the
jail. The borough-based jails
plan was approved by the City
Council in October 2019.
“The beginning of major
construction for the new borough
based jails program in
Kew Gardens is exciting news
and something we have been
greatly anticipating since
Mayor de Blasio pledged to
close the antiquated facilities
on Rikers Island,” Department
of Correction Commissioner
Vincent Schiraldi said. “It
means we are one step closer
to having modern facilities
that are far better in every way
than what exists today. The
borough-based jails plan will
create state-of-the-art, fully
air-conditioned buildings and
a more humane environment.
It will also help us achieve our
goal of creating the kind of
environment any of us would
want if someone we loved was
incarcerated.”
The Kew Gardens jail was
met with strong opposition
from the community but it
was approved following an
extensive and multi-step public
review process, including
design workshops with neighborhood
leaders, civic associations
and community boards.
“The news about progress
toward dismantling the
Queens Detention Complex is
a critical step towards implementing
advocates’ plans to
fully close Rikers Island by
2007 or sooner,” said Brandon
J. Holmes, co-director of Freedom
Agenda at The Urban
Justice Center. “Reaching this
significant milestone ahead of
Mayor de Blasio’s transition
out of office will help secure
the permanent demolition of
the 10 jails on Rikers, longterm
divestment from mass
incarceration, and a complete
transformation of our criminal
legal system and responses
to violence. We owe this to
formerly incarcerated New
Yorkers who have built this
movement to shutter Rikers
Island and improve conditions
of confinement for anyone who
remains incarcerated.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schneps
media.com or by phone at (718)
260–4538.
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