FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 16, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
Plans for new Kew Gardens jail start to come into focus
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
Seeking a safer and more community
oriented jail system to replace Rikers
Island, Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled
on Aug. 15 plans to construct four borough
based jails over the next decade —
including one in Kew Gardens.
Th e proposal would redevelop the dormant
Queens Detention Complex —
located at 126-02 82nd Ave., adjacent to
the Queens Criminal Courthouse — and
the nearby municipal parking lot (which
opened earlier this year) into a corrections
center with space for 1,510 prisoner beds.
Th e block of 82nd Street between 126th
and 132nd streets would be demapped to
allow for the facility’s development.
Construction of this jail and three similar
facilities in Brooklyn, Th e Bronx and
Manhattan would enable the city to move
forward with its controversial plan to shut
Rikers Island down. However, de Blasio
stressed that they would be developed in
ways that aim to integrate the facilities into
the surrounding neighborhoods, promoting
the safety of detainees, employees and
the public.
Th e Kew Gardens plan includes “support
space, community facility space, 439
accessory parking spaces within the detention
facility, and an adjacent above-ground
parking structure providing approximately
676 public spaces,” as noted in the draft
Photo courtesy of NYC Department of Corrections
The Queens Detention Center and a municipal parking lot (foreground) in Kew Gardens will be transformed into a new community-based jail under a
plan Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Aug. 15.
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S ll h k
environmental impact statement released
with the mayor’s announcement. Th e current
municipal lot, which replaced a parking
garage, has a little more than 300 spaces.
“We’re taking a big step forward in the
process of closing Rikers Island and creating
a modern, community-based jail system
that is smaller, safer and fairer,” said
de Blasio, who announced last year a roadmap
to eventually shut down the island of
city jails over the next decade.
Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz, whose
district includes the Queens Detention
Complex and municipal parking lot, touted
the plan as a potential gain for the community.
“Closing Rikers Island and opening community
based facilities is not only benefi -
cial for New York City’s corrections offi -
cers and incarcerated population, but also
benefi cial for the Kew Gardens community,”
she said. “Th e new facility in Kew
Gardens will bring signifi cant economic
development and provide hundreds of new
parking spaces for the community.”
All of the plans, however, are subject
to the city’s Uniform Land Use Review
Process (ULURP). Th e local community
board (in Kew Gardens’ case, Community
Board 9), the Queens Borough President,
the City Council and City Planning
Commission must each hold public hearings,
solicit comments and off er recommendations
before fi nal approval or denial
of each plan is rendered.
Th e city’s Department of Corrections
will hold a scoping meeting regarding the
draft EIS for the Kew Gardens jail at 6 p.m.
on Wednesday night, Sept. 26, at Queens
Borough Hall, located at 120-55 Queens
Blvd.
In the meantime, residents can submit
their feedback on the draft EIS through
Oct. 15 by emailing boroughplan@doc.
nyc.gov or writing to Howard Fiedler, NYC
Department of Corrections, 75-20 Astoria
Blvd., Suite 160, East Elmhurst, NY 11370.
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