8 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 12, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Neighborhood leaders and residents rally
against Kew Gardens community-based jail
BY JULIA MORO
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
More than three dozen community
members and leaders from across Queens
gathered on Friday, Aug. 6, to protest the
construction of a controversial community
based jail in Kew Gardens.
Th e jail, located on Union Turnpike
near Queens Criminal Court, broke
ground in June. It will be 19 stories, 1.4
million square feet and will hold about
886 inmates.
Th e borough-based jail was approved
aft er the New York City Council approved
plans in 2019 to close the detention facility
on Rikers Island by 2026. To go forward
with closing the 10,000-bed facility, the city
plans to build smaller jails in Brooklyn,
Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx to
house the inmates currently at Rikers.
But protestors expressed their support
for fi xing and rebuilding Rikers instead of
moving inmates to their community.
Councilman Robert Holden, the only
elected offi cial at the rally, said Rikers
Island should be rebuilt with mental
health facilities available and a courthouse.
“Th e mayor doesn’t want to do that, and
my City Council colleagues would rather
close Rikers as a symbol of mass incarceration,”
Holden said. “It’s going to cost a
lot more money, we don’t have that money
and we’d rather put it into the infrastructure
of the city.”
Holden, whose Council District 30
doesn’t include Kew Gardens, criticized
his colleagues for not showing up to the
rally and encouraged residents not to vote
for anyone who supports this communitybased
jail and closing Rikers.
Republican mayoral candidate Curtis
Sliwa also spoke at the rally, saying there
is no money for community jails.
“Bill de Blasio, who has single-handedly
destroyed our city, is leaving behind a
$6 billion growing debt,” Sliwa said. “How
are you going to fi nance new community
jails?”
Donghui Zang, one of the protest
organizers, said that Republicans and
Democrats had come together on this
issue to stop the building of the Kew
Gardens jail.
“Th e community does not want it,”
Zang said. “Th is is our community, our
streets, our schools and our children —
we don’t want the jail. It costs $8.7 billion.
Keep Rikers open. We have homeless that
need to be taken care of and schools that
need money.”
Th e mayor’s offi ce did not respond to
QNS’ request for comment by publication
time.
Th e borough-based jail is expected to be
completed by 2027, housing inmates from
Rikers and a separate facility for all of the
city’s female detainees.
Republican nominee for mayor Curtis Sliwa speaks during the protest. Councilman Robert Holden speaks during the protest.
Photos by Julia Moro
Community members rally against the planned Kew Gardens community-based jail.
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