Inside The Kew Gardens Jail The City Wants To Replace

KEW GARDENS, QUEENS — The Queens Detention Center hasn't been used as a jail since 2002, but now it's the talk of the town.

That's because the mayor's office wants to raze this jail at 126-02 82nd Ave. in Kew Gardens to make way for a new detention center.

It's part of the city's controversial proposal to build four new "borough-based" jails and close the notorious detention facilities on Rikers Island.

Officials in the Mayor's Office for Criminal Justice argue that the Kew Gardens jail is inhumane, noting the small size of its cells.

They also claim that the cost of building a new facility is comparable to the cost of redoing the existing building to fit their vision — a "modern" layout, space for community programming.

The existing Queens Detention Center is now used to train corrections officers, though portions are still used to hold detainees in the hours leading up to a court appearance next door at Queens Criminal Court. Officials say no one is held there overnight.

The City Planning Commission will soon vote on whether to approve the land-use application for the four jails and advance it to a City Council vote, which is the last step in the review process.

That vote will determine the Queens Detention Center's fate.