Study questions impact of local jail
Lippman Commission report says no ill effects on communities, but Queens is skeptical
BY MARK HALLUM
A new study from the
Lippman Commission,
independent consulting
advisors hired by the city,
claims that new jails have no
impact on property values or
crime in the communities they
are placed in.
Also known as the
Independent Commission on
New York City Criminal Justice
and Incarceration Reform, the
consulting group has worked
on a plan to implement the
closure of Rikers in favor of
borough-based jails which
has been met with opposition
across the city.
Many local residents who
oppose the jail slated for
Kew Gardens have called on
Mayor Bill de Blasio to stand
down, claiming it would effect
property values and bring
crime into the surrounding
neighborhoods.
“New York City has made
real progress towards the
ambitious goal of shutting
the notorious jails on Rikers
Island with significantly
fewer people in jail, low crime
rates, and newly passed state
pretrial reforms,” former Chief
Judge Jonathan Lippman
said. “Yet, to make closing
Rikers a reality, establishing
a smaller, better-designed,
and more accessible detention
system in the boroughs is
a critical next step. While
some have understandably
voiced concerns around the
potential impact detention
facilities will have on the
surrounding community, this
analysis confirms that there
is no observable impact on
two critical areas of concern:
property values and crime
rates. As community members
and elected officials evaluate
the plan to close Rikers
and transition to a smaller
borough-based system, it is our
hope that they will weigh the
data and evidence contained
in our report.”
The commission examined
transactions that saw 1
to 3 family homes, co-ops,
condos and rental units
changed hands sourced from
the Census and American
Community Surveys in 2000,
2009 and 2010. The Queens
Detention Complex, which
sits on the grounds where the
city plans to build a new 1.2
million square foot facility,
was closed in 2002 and only
serves minimal purposes.
Though the commission
does not attribute property
growth to Brooklyn Detention
Complex opened in 2012,
they note that it grew by 55
percent in the years to follow.
Crime rates did not increase,
according to the study.
Since the Queens Detention
Complex closed prior to the
availability of Open Data
records, the commission
used information from the
Historical New York City
Crime Data archives. This
would have been data gathered
by 112th Precinct and would
only include felonies.
Crime rates in the 112th
were on the decline prior
to 2001 and continued on a
downward slope throughout to
2018, the study claimed.
Aida Vernon, a community
activist from Briarwood as a
member of Queens Residents
United, was not convinced by
the study.
“I don’t mean to be
disrespectful to the Lippman
commission, but personally I
don’t give it much credence,”
Vernon told QNS. ” We’re
continuing to oppose this
planned as conceived, there’s
no guarantee criminal justice
reform can be achieved from
it and its going to impact
neighborhoods.”
Vernon understands the
study to be the product of the
commission and believes they
would use further research to
defend their recommendations
to the city. She would lend the
study more faith had it come
from a more independent
source.
“Its their idea and they’re
constantly trying to justify it,”
Vernon said.
Money for the jails should go
toward mental health services
and education, preventative
measures to crime, according
to Vernon.
Mara Einstein, another
activist from the community,
cast doubts on the report’s
methodology.
“As a scholar and former
marketing executive, I see this
for what it is: obfuscation,”
Einstein said. “This is
comparing apples to oranges.
The study looked at the
correlation between property
values and crime rates, not
property values and proximity
to a 29-story, 1.2 million
square foot jail. The research
is irrelevant.”
But despite the numbers
presented in the study,
opposition to the jails
continues to grow.
Activists from four of the
five boroughs (Staten Island
was exempt) scheduled to
receive a new jails have
merged into a organization
called Boroughs United (BU).
“It’s time for Democrats
across the nation to recognize
that Bill de Blasio isn’t a real
progressive if he’s willing
to spend billions of dollars on
a regressive plan to build new
jails instead of investing in
real criminal justice reforms,”
Nancy Kong, spokesperson
for BU, said.“Mayor de Blasio
should withdraw his deeply
flawed plan and focus on
progressive reforms that
strengthen communities and
protect human rights.”
A rendering of the proposed new Queens Detention Complex in Kew
Gardens. Courtesy of the mayor’s offi ce
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