Bronx Jail Opponents Vow Council Fight After City Planning Vote

Mott Haven Leaders condemn "rigged" land use process, demand Council reject controversial plan to build massive jail in low-income community of color

BRONX, NY (09/03/2019) (readMedia)-- Opponents of the controversial plan to build a massive jail in the South Bronx vowed to fight the project in the City Council following a City Planning Commission vote today in favor of it, condemning a "rigged" land use process in which the City misled and misinformed the public.

The plan to build a jail in Mott Haven -- a low-income community of color -- has faced steep opposition from elected officials and community members from its initial proposal last year. Bronx Community Board 1 voted unanimously against the jail proposal and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. rejected the plan, stating that the City has not listened to community concerns and that the jail should be sited next to the Bronx Family Court instead. Rep. Jose Serrano and other elected officials representing the Bronx have also demanded the plan be scrapped.

"The City Planning Commission's approval of this plan is just the latest despicable chapter in a land use process rigged by the City," said Arline Parks, CEO of Diego Beekman. "Now the City Council must do what's right and stop this unjust plan to build a massive jail in a low-income community of color. We are begging Council Speaker Corey Johnson to do what the de Blasio Administration has not: listen to the pleas of this low-income neighborhood that is already oversaturated with City-funded facilities. The siting of this jail will keep this neighborhood mired in crime and violence for decades to come. Speaker Johnson: Join us in support of an alternative site."

"I am deeply disappointed by today's vote in the City Planning Commission, which moves forward the plan to construct a new jail in a residential neighborhood in Mott Haven," said Congressman José E. Serrano. "The Mott Haven jail plan is bad policy, and the process has been fatally flawed. I stand with the residents of Mott Haven, who have been clear in their opposition to this plan. I hope that as the City Council considers these plans in the next few weeks, that they take the time to listen to the community's concerns, and to figure out an alternative."

"I again must air the concerns of my constituents in opposition to the construction of a Department Of Corrections jail facility in the Diego Beekman area," said New York State Assemblywoman, Carmen E. Arroyo. Our community is already saturated with other facilities from work release, drug rehabilitation, and a juvenile detention center to name a few. Adding a borough-based jail in our community is not conducive to the positive image that we need to develop for our community."

Mott Haven community leaders also filed a lawsuit against the City earlier this year, charging that the City broke the law by packaging four new proposed borough jail sites into one land use proposal, instead of individually. The lawsuit also accuses the de Blasio Administration of putting political expediency over the needs of the Mott Haven community.

An analysis of the Bronx jail proposal also found that the City misled and misinformed the public by presenting inaccurate renderings and details of the plan which made the jail appear smaller than it is.

The City Council will now consider the four-borough jail land use package including the Bronx jail. It has 60 days to make its determination.