First step of borough-based jail program begins in Kew Gardens

Construction on the Kew Gardens jail facilities is slated to begin, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced. Renderings via of NYC Mayor’s Office

By Rachel Vick

The first phase of construction on the borough-based jails is slated to begin on the Kew Gardens facility, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday.

A parking garage and community space will be built adjacent to an existing lot on Union Turnpike near Queens Criminal Court, and will mark the first step in a process to close the facilities on Rikers Island by 2027.

“Today we move one huge step closer to our goal of a fairer and more equitable jail system for all New Yorkers,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Closing Rikers Island will make our city stronger and more just, and I’m proud to deliver a system that better reflects this city’s values.”

A flexible space for community use and 600 public parking spots are expected to be completed by 2023, and will be separate from the actual jail.

The spaces will include a partially planted green roof, solar panels and on-site stormwater retention, and is expected to earn LEED Gold certification for sustainability.

During the first phase of construction on the garage structure later this year, demolition will begin on the vacant Queens Detention Complex, where a portion of the new 886-bed jail will be built in its stead.

The design and construction of the jail are expected to take place in early 2023 and will be completed in 2027 — in time to meet the Rikers goal, according to the Department of Design and Construction.

The jail will not exceed a height of 195 feet  and is slated to include a separate facility to house all of the city’s female detainees. Proposed facilities will include a space for detainees to see their loved ones. 

DDC Commissioner Jamie Torres-Springer said the plan offers a “once-in-many-generations opportunity to build a smaller and more humane justice system.”

Both Community Board 9, which represents the neighborhood, and then-Borough President Melinda Katz rejected the proposal. 

CB 9 did not respond before print time.

Advocates of the plan, passed by City Council in 2019, say it will create more humane conditions than those at Rikers Island, both in keeping incarcerated individuals closer to their families and in living conditions.

“Reaching this significant milestone ahead of Mayor de Blasio’s transition out of office will help secure the permanent demolition of the 10 jails on Rikers, long-term divestment from mass incarceration, and a complete transformation of our criminal legal system and responses to violence,” said Brandon J. Holmes, co-director of Freedom Agenda at The Urban Justice Center. “We owe this to formerly incarcerated New Yorkers who have built this movement to shutter Rikers Island and improve conditions of confinement for anyone who remains incarcerated.”