FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 1, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Construction underway on borough-based jail in Kew Gardens
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e 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.
Th e construction marks the fi rst major
activity in the borough-based jails program,
an $8.3 billion eff ort 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 refl ects this
city’s values.”
Th e new 105-foot structure will house a
25,000-square-foot, two-level, multipurpose
community space, plus more than
600 public parking spots. Th e structure is
being built on the west side of the existing
parking lot at Union Turnpike between
126th Street and 132nd Street.
Th e 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.
“Th is project is part of a once-in-manygenerations
opportunity to build a smaller
A rendering of the parking garage and community space at the site of the future Kew Gardens jail.
and more humane justice system that
includes four facilities grounded in dignity
and respect, off ering 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. “Th is is a
great milestone in the borough-based jails
program, and we continue to seek and
evaluate candidates for the design-build
teams that will create the program’s other
facilities.”
Th e 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. Th e borough
based jails plan was approved by the
City Council in October 2019.
“Th e 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. Th e 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.”
Th e 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
Courtesy of the mayor’s offi ce
leaders, civic associations and
community boards.
“Th e 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 Th e Urban Justice Center. “Reaching
this signifi cant milestone ahead of Mayor
de Blasio’s transition out of offi ce will help
secure the permanent demolition of the
10 jails on Rikers, long-term 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 confi nement for anyone who remains
incarcerated.”
Bayside Saint Patrick’s Day parade scheduled to return in September
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@schnepsmedia.com
@jenna_bagcal
Th e Bayside Saint Patrick’s Day Parade
will make its grand return in September
aft er COVID-19 forced organizers to
postpone the celebration from its original
date in March.
Th e parade’s committee made the
announcement at a luncheon last week
and confi rmed that they were set to march
on Sept. 18, 2021. On the offi cial parade
Facebook page, organizers added that the
September celebration would mark the
halfway point to St. Patrick’s Day in 2022.
Parade president Francis McLoughlin
told the Irish Voice it’s “99.9 percent
certain” that the parade will happen in
September. Th e committee applied for
a permit with the NYPD, which is “on
track” for approval.
On June 15, Governor Andrew Cuomo
announced that he would lift most COVID-
19 restrictions as 70 percent of adults in the
state received at least one shot of the vaccine.
In addition to the parade, other activities
in retail, construction, manufacturing,
entertainment and sports and recreation
are slowly making their return.
Members of the Bayside community
started the parade in 2018 to showcase
their Irish pride and the event quickly
grew in popularity. Th e last parade in
2019 saw participation from more than 70
local groups including schools, civic organizations,
marching and pop bands and
dance groups.
Weeks before the third annual Bayside
parade in 2020, organizers announced
that the celebration was canceled amid
growing COVID-19 concerns.
In early 2021, the committee canceled
the parade for a second year in a row but
remained hopeful that they would return
in March 2022.
Th e committee renominated Eileen
Flannelly Mackell as the parade’s grand
marshal as well as aides Tommy Mulvihill,
Robert Lynch, Joe Donovan, John Golden,
Tom Golden and Father Chris Henue.
As in years past, the parade will take
place along Bell Boulevard.
To learn more, visit baysidesaintpatricksdayparade.
org or the parade’s offi cial
Facebook page. Photo courtesy of the Bayside Saint Patrick’s Day Parade
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