Mott Haven Leaders Praise BP Diaz for Push to Change Bronx Jail Site

BRONX, NY (02/21/2019) (readMedia)-- Mott Haven leaders praised Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. today after he condemned the City's plan to build a new jail in their lower-income community of color. Borough President Diaz also called for the new jail to be built near the Bronx Courthouse as part of his annual State of the Borough address.

The Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) on the City's proposed new jail sites is set to begin next month. Mott Haven leaders, Borough President Diaz and Rep. Jose Serrano have all demanded that the Bronx site be moved closer to the courthouse and away from the residential community.

In response, Arline Parks, CEO of Diego Beekman, said:

"As Bronx Borough President Diaz and Congressman Serrano show leadership and courage on behalf of low-income people of color, other elected officials like Mayor de Blasio, Councilwoman Diana Ayala and Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson are betraying the residents of Mott Haven and the principles of social justice. The jail in the Bronx must be located next to the courthouse, not in the middle of a residential community that is already struggling to clean up its crime-ridden streets. Mott Haven demands the Mayor and the City Council act to move the Bronx jail site immediately."

Mott Haven leaders recently launched an advertising campaign and organizing effort to educate and mobilize Bronx residents against the Mott Haven jail plan.

Background:

In August, Mayor de Blasio announced four borough-based jails as part of a plan to close Rikers Island. The Bronx location – 320 Concord Avenue – is currently an NYPD tow pound. Mott Haven residents have spent years creating a community-based plan to improve their neighborhood, which includes affordable housing and a supermarket on the same site.

The commission created to plan for the closing of Rikers, chaired by former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, formally advised that new jails should be sited near each borough's courthouse, and, specifically, not in residential areas. The Concord Avenue site is in a residential community, represented by Councilwoman Ayala's district, more than two miles from the Bronx courthouse. There is an available location next to the courthouse in Councilwoman Gibson's district, which she has opposed.

Mott Haven has a crime rate twice as a high as the rest of the city and experienced a large increase in gun violence in 2018. More than 40 percent of families in Mott Haven live in poverty, and the neighborhood was ranked the worst place in the city for child development. The neighborhood is also the local epicenter of the opioid crisis.

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