Mayor Saw Kew Gardens Site As Only Option For Queens Jail

KEW GARDENS, QUEENS — Mayor Bill de Blasio told Kew Gardens and Briarwood residents in a private meeting that his office only considered one site for a proposed and hotly-contested Queens jail, a source told Patch.

The former Queens Detention Center Complex was the only location considered for the local jail because it is an existing jail facility and is near the Queens courthouse, de Blasio told meeting attendees, according to one of those present who spoke with Patch but asked not to be named.

A spokesperson from the mayor's office did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.

The closed-to-press meeting Wednesday afternoon was the first time de Blasio and staffers from the mayor's office directly met with Kew Gardens and Briarwood residents to discuss the jail project, according to a community member who attended.

De Blasio promised attendees — about 30 community members, including representatives from criminal justice groups as well as the district manager and chair of Queens Community Board 9 — they would be compensated for the jail's incursion but did not provide specifics.

“When we ask a community to do something for the whole city, which is what we’re doing here, then the community has a right to say, here are things that would help our community, including things we’ve been trying to get for a long time and haven’t gotten,” de Blasio said, according to a recording of the meeting reviewed by Patch.

“How can we say to the community, we’re asking you to shoulder a burden but we want to do something back that’s really going to make a difference?" de Blasio added.

Plans initially called for a 1,510-bed community jail and an infirmary to serve inmates from five borough complexes, but the city cut 100 beds and the infirmary after discussions with City Council Member Karen Koslowitz, the mayor said. De Blasio said he is continuing to negotiate the size of the jail and other logistics with Koslowitz.

The mayor announced plans in August 2018 to build four new jails throughout the city to replace the detention facilities on Rikers Island and reduce the city's jail population from 9,400 to 5,000 by the year 2027. The City Planning Commission on Monday certified the application to build the four jails as complete, kicking off the city's lengthy Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, also known as ULURP.

Attendees from the mayor's office Wednesday included Senior Advisor for Criminal Justice Freya Rigterink and Deputy Director of Close Rikers and Justice Initiatives Dana Kaplan. Koslowitz, DOC Commissioner Cynthia Brann and Marco Carrion of the NYC Community Affairs Unit also attended.

"I am very pleased that the Mayor came out to engage the community concerning the proposed jail in Kew Gardens," said Koslowitz, who represents Kew Gardens. "It was a meaningful dialogue. Both sides listened and learned."