Mott Haven jail opponents
accuse CPC member of confl ict
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BY ALEX MITCHELL
Combatants of the Mott Haven
jail plan at 320 Concord
Avenue have found what they
describe as yet another fl aw in
the mayor’s aim to phase out
Rikers Island by 2026-27.
One member on the City
Planning Commission Board
whose responsible is to help
determine how NYC goes
about building the proposed
24-story jail in the south
Bronx was also a member of
the mayor’s ‘Close Rikers’
task force.
Bronx opponents to the jail
tower criticized CPC Comissioner
David Burney’s involvement
with both of these
projects, calling it a confl ict
of interest while demanding
that the board member recuse
himself from the jail’s land
use proceedings.
“How can an architect of
the city’s controversial jail
plan now be trusted to objectively
vote on that same plan,”
questioned Arline Parks, CEO
of neighboring Diego Beekman
housing, which would
surround the housing complex
upon its completion.
The mayor personally appointed
Burney to the jail
commission last March, following
approval from the City
Council.
“This is just more evidence
that the de Blasio administra-
tion’s plan to burden a lowincome
community of color
with a jail has been rigged
from the beginning,” she continued.
Parks and Beekman had
previously sued the city over
its proceedings with the jail
plan. Their legal team is also
critical Burney’s dual infl uence.
“You cannot objectively
evaluate a project you were
involved in planning,” said
attorney Adam Stein, adding,
“Commissioner Burney must
recuse himself from this vote
if the city wishes to pursue a
fair process.”
That commission holds
power to either forward the
proposal’s land use proceedings
to the City Council or
could reject it. A rejection
would require the city to restart
the process or to change
its plans and resubmit.
Many politicians and community
leaders, including
Borough President Ruben,
Diaz, Jr. have said that the
plan to phase out Rikers Island
is being pushed through
for political expediency more
than for proper criminal justice
reform.
“We have another eight
years before Rikers Island is
estimated to be closed.
We can afford to take another
year to do this right
for the Bronx,” Diaz said to
the CPC during a hearing on
Wednesday, July 10.
“The administration still
has not explained why it needs
a facility that would allot over
1,000 square feet per detainee,
particularly when modern
jails are being built elsewhere
at a third of the size,” Diaz also
said.
He also criticized the city’s
readiness to move forward
with the plan, saying that
there’s no actual program or
design for this facility.
“How can we be asked to
approve a jail in our community
when the administration
itself admits it doesn’t know
what it will really look like?”
Diaz questioned.
As of that CPC hearing
which Diaz and Parks testifi
ed at, the commission was required
to render a decision on
the borough based jails within
60 days.
“From ignoring community
concerns, to combining
four separate jail sites into one
land use process, the de Blasio
administration’s willingness
to game the system in order to
achieve its own political goals
is appalling,” Parks said following
the hearing.
Experts close to the situation
anticipate that CPC’s deliberations
will be fi nalized
sometime in August.
Arline Parks speaks at a hearing regarding the Mott Haven jail.
Michael Carlo