The mayor’s office has released the first details about plans for four borough-based jails, which includes the redevelopment and expansion of the former Queens Detention Complex in Kew Gardens.
The overhaul would significantly expand the size of the facility at 126-01 82nd Ave., which closed in 2002. The existing building is 497,600 square feet and housed about 500 inmates; the new facility would be 1,910,000 square feet and house 1,510 inmates.
The jail reopening is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to close the troubled Rikers Island jail facility and shift the city’s jail inmates to smaller jail facilities. The mayor’s office plans for the four facilities to offer 6,040 beds, which would accommodate the roughly 5,000 people in detention daily.
The mayor’s office says that the smaller facilities would be safer and enable inmates to maintain contact with their families and communities, and to have better access to their legal representatives and the court system. The new facilities would also give inmates increased access to rehabilitative and reentry services, as well as to more sunlight and outdoor space.
The Kew Gardens facility would also offer a centralized care area for inmates with an infirmary and a maternity ward.
The new development would offer parking for visitors to the jail and for the general public. A total of 429 parking spaces would be available within the detention facility, and the public would have access to an adjacent above-ground parking lot with 676 public spaces at the northwest of the property.
A community space would also be constructed along 126th Street, the mayor’s office said.
The city has not yet an anticipated a completion date or an estimate of the length of the construction period, but it would need to seek zoning changes in order to expand the existing facility.
The mayor’s office said that the city would need to make an amendment to the zoning text to modify the “requirements for bulk” such as the floor area, height and setback, as well as the parking requirement. The city would seek a special permit to de-map 82nd Ave. between 126th Street and 132nd Street.
32 comments:
Am I losing my eyesight? I don't see a word about how much this will cost. Not important to taxpayers?
Put one jail next door to the dope from Park Slope...Duh Blasio!
Hello People who care about their community of Forest Hills & Kew Gardens and who do not want to see it decline as we have seen what happened when the Comfort Inn was turned into a men’s homeless shelter (litter, panhandling, drinking & drug use out in public in broad daylight, public defecation and an increase in crime in the area).
WELL, get ready for MORE CRAP ON STEROIDS and a BIG DECLINE IN QUALITY OF LIFE in our community.
The City of New York is proposing the construction of a Queens County Prison to be located at 126-02 82nd Avenue. Right near the already problematic Comfort Inn homeless shelter.
Our HACK ELECTED OFFICIAL, Councilmember Karen Koslowitz, whose district includes the Queens Detention Complex and municipal parking lot (where the jail will be placed), touted the plan as a potential gain for the community.
“Closing Rikers Island and opening community-based facilities is not only beneficial for New York City’s corrections officers and incarcerated population, but also beneficial for the Kew Gardens community,” she said. “The new facility in Kew Gardens will bring significant economic development and provide hundreds of new parking spaces for the community.”
EXPLAIN, how this will bring economic development and provide parking spaces for our community. We have already seen the crap that the homeless shelter here has brought. NOW picture all that CRAP on steroids. MORE LITTER, MORE PROBLEMATIC PEOPLE HANGING AROUND OUR COMMUNITY, MORE LOITERING, MORE TRAFFIC/CONGESTION, and MORE CRIME. YOU CAN COUNT ON IT.
So remember Koslowitz’s word come election time. Here is her contact information:
118-35 Queens Boulevard, 17th Floor
Forest Hills, NY 11375
718-544-8800 phone
718-544-4452 fax
Koslowitz@council.nyc.gov
If you would prefer NOT to have this facility in our neighborhood, where IT DOES NOT BELONG, you can voice your opinion at a hearing to be held regarding this proposal on:
September 26, 2018, at 6:00 PM Queens Borough Hall,
120-55 Queens Boulevard, Kew Gardens, NY 11424.
If you are interested in reading the entire proposal for a “borough based jail system”
(mysteriously, Staten Island has been left out of this), you can peruse the entire document here:
https://www.scribd.com/document/386269364/New-York-City-Borough-Based-Jail-System-Draft-Scope-of-Work-to-Prepare-a-Draft-Environmental-Impact-Statement#download&from_embed
To avoid having property values collapse and see the crime rate in our area skyrocket, I also urge you to spread the word to our elected representatives below– WE DO NOT WANT THIS!
Community Board 9 – J. Richard Smith (Chairperson) – 718- 286-2686
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/queenscb9/index.page
Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (district 28) 718-263-5595
http://nyassembly.gov/mem/Andrew-Hevesi/map/
State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. (district 15) – (718) 738-1111
https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/joseph-p-addabbo-jr
Queens Borough President – Melinda Katz – 718 286-3000
http://www.queensbp.org/
Mayor Bill De Blasio – (212) 788-7585
https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/bio.page
Make your voice heard! This does not belong in our community!
https://thefilthofforesthillsqueens.wordpress.com/
There was a meeting before it was opened to the press. Surely the costs were discussed then and there in a hybrid of obstructing information from the public and media and lame transparency. Which is standard operating procedure for this crooked mayor, his real estate donors, and his diabolical city plotter Deputy Glen.
A lot has been said against the idea of smaller neighborhood jails, but consider these facts:
1) Rikers is notoriously corrupt and violent. Weapons and drugs get into that supposedly secure facility. Past investigations have shown that this happens with guards who either give deliberately lax screening to some visitors or, in other instances, bring the contraband in themselves.
2) Violence is enforced through the recently exposed "program" where violent gang members were used to enforce "order" in return for privileges which were often used to allow the gangs to continue operating their drug and sex rings while incarcerated.
The fact that this facility is on an island has lead to this atmosphere. Putting smaller jails in communities will force greater oversight and hopefully lead to better outcomes.
RobNYC
Rob in Manhattan said "Putting smaller jails in communities will force greater oversight and hopefully lead to better outcomes.
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AND what make you think that bullshit. This corrupt city, corrupt mayor and the all the corrupt city agencies have NO OVERSIGHT at all. Jails of this size should not be put in a heavily residential area, period.
This is happening because kew garden/forest hill/rego park council member and community board negotiated with the mayor to get the homeless shelters outta their neighborhood in exchange for the phipps housing and jail. You got played .
1.9 million square feet for 1,510 inmates ?
That more space then my whole home, per inmate, jeez what a sweet jail !!
Now consider this cost for 1/2 those inmates who dont even belong in this country. Why cant the mayor just hand them over to ICE who will house them cheap out in the desert on government cheese & bologna sandwiches and put homeless American in such a large structure?
And in order to make this happen, the budgets of DOT, NYPD, Parks, Sanitation and all the rest, SHALL BE SLASHED.
RobNYC: If the same corrupt guards are moved to community jails, the lax screening and contraband smuggling will also continue. The City and State have completely glossed over this fact as they talk about neighborhood jails. They seem to think that relocating people is enough to change things without a complete overhaul of practices. If they don't even recognize the corruption as a contributing factor to the problems at Riker's, how are they going to change it?
Uh, how does the jail being on an island affect the gang culture inside? The inmates aren't going on daily strolls out in public. It's a jail!
Why build a jail?
This crew of morons either won't lock them up or will let them go. Why do we waste money on building?
"Putting smaller jails in communities will force greater oversight and hopefully lead to better outcomes.: I assume you have a PhD in sociology psychology and made research on this matter, right? Or you simply regurgitated like a zombie the propaganda you read in the newspapers?
Seems like a fair plan to me to evenly split up jails across the city.
At least one neighborhood can't complain they are the only one.
Agreed, but have a smaller units to deal with is easier to stem corruption then one giant facility
>> If they don't even recognize the corruption as a contributing factor to the problems at Riker's, how are they going to change
The list of who to contact should include State Senator Comrie. It is his district.
If we don't know the costs, what's to argue? Jail expansions are taking place all over America, it's not just a NYC thing. Also, there are, for the most part, no more jury trials. So, more and more bigger jails and no jury trials, what does that look like? Illegal incarcerations on a grand scale, I think. And no one is protesting this anywhere in America? In most communities that are being blessed with government mandated big prisons for profit, the cost of new jail facilities is between $70 and $80 thousand per bed or inmate. Don't be shy news reporters, get the facts on tax money being spent and lets see it!
A community space would also be constructed along 126th Street, the mayor’s office said
So wonderful from our glorious leaders the organ grinder and his little monkey. How thoughtful.
An outdoor plaza for the released to pick right back up with their entrepreneurship selling loose cigarettes, stolen food, drugs, their girlfriends. So considerate of the winos, they will need a place to relieve themselves and throw the paper plates and other garbage from the donated food.
This is truly a plan to continue to destroy NYC. No, I don't want to be anywhere near criminals. The subway stop in Briarwood will be dangerous again.
The liberal delusion is that people go to jail/prison because of selling pot. Not true, they go to jail because they are dangerous, unethical people who take horrible actions against innocent human beings. And they do it in an organized manner as a lifestyle. Gangs love this idea.
Anonymous Res Ipsa said...
RobNYC: If the same corrupt guards are moved to community jails, the lax screening and contraband smuggling will also continue. The City and State have completely glossed over this fact as they talk about neighborhood jails.
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That is an important aspect of this situation. As I see it, this stems from the "out of sight-out of mind" mentality of having the facility on an island.
The places are called "correction facilities" they supposedly exist to correct bad behavior as well simply get criminals out of society.
The problem with a place like Rikers is that most of these people are going to eventually be back amongst us. Do we want reformed citizens or simply hardened criminals. Some are hopeless and must be kept in cages till they are too old -or dead. Others simply made mistakes and can be rehabilitated. That is more likely if they can maintain a connection to the community vs. being run by "the program" -gangs.
Rob in Manhattan
That is an important aspect of this situation. As I see it, this stems from the "out of sight-out of mind" mentality of having the facility on an island.
The places are called "correction facilities" they supposedly exist to correct bad behavior as well simply get criminals out of society.
______________________________
That is true...in theory, but neither the City nor the State have articulated any plan to actually change anything about the way the facilities are run, aside from relocating the inmates. If they said that they had new protocols for the jails and new hiring practices for the guards and that the protocols and hiring practices would be implemented at Riker's immediately, then maybe there would be some level of confidence in the jails coming to the neighborhoods. In absence of any plans, we can expect the same nonsense to continue...just on the local streets.
We have seen this show before. The City swore up and down that the homeless shelters were just full of people down on their luck. They started opening shelters in neighborhoods and crime followed because there were no protocols in place to handle the criminal element. Anyone who complained was labeled a NIMBY. And yet, the Post published articles showing that the City LIED and underreported the problems at the shelters. Not just a little, but hundreds of incidents were under-reported.
This is what happens when you vote Democrat.
You get idiotic ideas of social engineering which have no basis in actual human psychology.
By placing these jails in middle class communities you invite all the problems of the criminal class into the neighborhoods which they have already proven unworthy of living in.
Yes, this is a moral judgement.
What makes these "city planners" who didn't even grow up in this city, believe that there will be an end to corruption by scaling down the size of the jail?
By that logic, there should be no corruption in local governments because they're smaller and more manageable. LOL
This is exactly how Democrats destroy great cities; by enacting policies which seek to remedy societal ills by rearranging deck chairs rather than correcting poor choices in the first place.
By sacrificing the comfort and safety of the most productive members of society ;the middle class in an ill-guided attempt to "improve" the problems of society without any discussion of self-reliance, accountability or personal responsibility in society.
Remember the Democrat idea that "it takes a village to raise a child"?
Yeah, they take that crap literally in liberal circles.
They actually want you to take care of their mistakes and poor life choices, and
you're supposed to shut your mouth and accept this fate willingly!
Look at San Francisco, now they've resorted to human crap crews in response to the deluge of human feces being deposited throughout that city. Too many hypodermic needles in the park? They'll just hire needle picker-uppers.
This is why they keep proposing to water down the Specialized High Schools, because they want to punish achievement just to have a place to warehouse underachievers.
Show me a prisoner at Rikers and I'll show you an individual who was never actually taught that there are basic rules to follow in the development of a cohesive society. Instead what we get in our public schools is a diluted curriculum made of of equal parts victimization ideology, moral relativism, ant-American slander and identity politics.
Look at Chicago, look at Baltimore, look at St. Louis, Detroit...the list goes on.
But you keep voting Democrat and expecting it to work out fine.
Harry Haller
Spot on Harry Haller. Spot on.
>The new facilities would also give inmates increased access to rehabilitative and reentry services, as well as to more sunlight and outdoor space.
How would they have more outdoor space in the middle of a residential community then they do on their own island?
I agree with Harry that people do indeed make poor life choices and need to take personal respectability for their actions. People sometimes look to avoid reality and as has been said you can avoid reality but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.
The problem here is also one of number. As I understand it there has been an overall decline in the Rikers inmate population but i imagine that number can go lower if there are not inmates sitting in jail for offenses that could be dealt with at different level (drug offenses/treatment) or these inmates that are sitting there because of their inability to meet some sought of minuscule bail. Speed the process up so that you are able to get inmates either out or upstate quicker into the State prison system.
Lower the numbers reduce the need for the number of facilities and perhaps incentive those communities willing to take on these facilities.
Here I'll sum up what you are saying so no one has to suffer through that.
Democrats = BAD
Liberals = dumb
People in jail = BAD
Middle Class = Good
Poor = LAZY
Harry Haller = is so smart but somehow still poor and uneducated.
>>Harry Haller
"This is happening because kew garden/forest hill/rego park council member and community board negotiated with the mayor to get the homeless shelters outta their neighborhood in exchange for the phipps housing and jail. You got played ."
This is happening because Koslowitz doesn't have, and never will have opposition. why because you sheeple won't ever not vote the D line.
In response to "Your Disappointed Mom Said";
I'm neither poor nor uneducated.
I'm a born and bred New Yorker commenting on what I see going on around me in the city that I love.
If using my intellectual capacity for applying logic to empirical evidence offends your snowflake sensibilities,
well then, shove it up your ass!
Warmest regards,
Harry Haller
I hope it takes longer than the time he has left in office so the next person in will put a stop to this nonsense. A jail doesn't create the behavior of the inmates there. Deblasio wants to make sure the homeless and prison population are taken care of. While the middle class are fighting to stay in there homes. How about you give us a break on the tax increases? Yes, we're only the wallets to fund this garbage. Parking rates jumping to an insane amount - train service in the crapper but this administration's energies are clearly not spent on the working class issues.
My question is - what's the plan for Rikers Island - will it be a tourist attraction like Alcatraz? or will this become real estate development?
We will see what this was really all about once Riker's closes.
The men’s shelter being built on cooper & 80th Street gives you crap from both sides.
Be armed.....or be harmed!
You should not have printed that map. Some developer will see it and get the idea to put buildings over the porking lot
Back to this poorly written article. There are better ones out there Crappy, if you want to believe them. Your posted article only talks about Kew Gardens and not the other three sites that will also be built in the five boros. Each will have about 1,500 beds a piece and the total tickets to taxpayers according to the DeBlasio team will be about $10 billion dollars, that's without the usual increases. That would calculate to around $1 million 700 thousand dollars per bed I believe. Can that be true? In other parts of America they are building these new and larger facilities for between $70 and $80 thousand per bed. Which is also outrageous. Here it comes NYC! Look out.
City doesn't address how replacing a physical non-problem addresses a SYSTEMIC HR problem...Karen needs to be harangued CONSTANTLY, where she goes, I'd be ashamed to have her as my rep, glad I don't.
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