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Feb. 8-14, 2019 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
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Residents speak out against Rikers plan
Opponents of mayor’s community jail proposal criticize councilwoman for lack of support
MEET AND GREET
BY MARK HALLUM
A packed Queens
Community House in Kew
Gardens questioned on
Jan. 31 why the de Blasio
administration does not simply
rebuild Rikers Island instead
of borough-based jails — and
voiced harsh criticisms toward
City Councilwoman Karen
Koslowitz for not opposing
the plan which they believe
will hurt their community in
many ways.
Opponents of the plan,
however, said they are not
opposed to other criminal
justice reforms such as
ending cash bail; they
simply believe that creating
a 1,500-inmate jail at the
former Queens Detention
Center complex in Kew
Gardens will only transplant
the problems that already
exist on Rikers Island.
“Let’s think about putting
2,500 additional workers —
people of Queens drive —
that’s probably 50 percent cars,
24/7, into the neighborhood,”
Andrea Crawford said. “We
want civil reform, we want
criminal reform, we want
bail reform. We want to
the things that’ll make the
criminal justice system work
better. What we don’t want
is for our neighborhoods to
be crushed. That’s exactly
what will happen and nobody
is listening.”
Multiple speakers
repeatedly argued that, instead
of building large boroughbased
jails and taking inmates
out of Rikers, the facilities on
the island could be rebuilt and
modernized to meet the justice
reform demands of today.
One attendee pointed
out that most the facilities
Police Officer Dorian Tompson speaks at the 113th Precinct’s Build a Block program held at The Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in
Jamaica. Photo by Nat Valentine
on Rikers had been built in
the 1970s and were not “19th
century dungeons.”
A representative from
Koslowitz’s office bore the
brunt of scorn from the crowd
as he argued that his boss
was simply taking a tactical
approach to the situation
by not taking a hard stance
against the jail so she can have
a seat at the negotiating table.
“The reason why she hasn’t
come out against it — and I
won’t say she is for a jail in Kew
Gardens — but the reason why
she hasn’t come out against it is
because she’s dealing with the
political reality that it’s likely
to pass,” Alex Anderson, the
Koslowitz’ rep, said. “I know
it’s a tough pill to swallow, but
she’s looking out for the people
of Kew Gardens.”
His remarks were
punctuated by a frustrated
wave of murmurs and laughs
from the audience.
State Assemblyman
Andrew Hevesi stood up
for Koslowitz’s strategy,
arguing that the de Blasio
administration would shut her
out completely if she made her
opposition clear.
“This tactic, while you may
not like it, is smart,” Hevesi
said. “If she becomes the enemy
and the yeller and screamer,
and if they bulldoze over her,
which is a distinct possibility
… she will have zero say as to
how this goes down.”
The proposed jail would
be 29 stories if it passes
through the City Planning
Commission and the ULURP
process and would be located
where the parking lot behind
Queens Borough Hall is on
Union Turnpike.
Reach reporter Mark
Hallum by e-mail at mhallum@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260–4564.
Vol. 7 No. 6 52 total pages
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