January 2022 - Rikers Island Jail Alternative Plan

In December 2021, the KGCA become aware of an alternative jail plan.

“A Humane Alternative to the Borough Based Jail Plan (BBJ)” is a detailed proposal developed by a group of local downtown Manhattan architects in response to the ill-conceived and wasteful mayoral Borough Based Jail Plan. The architects, represented by William Bialosky, have extensive experience in large-scale development and city planning projects.

This plan was originally presented at a 2019 press conference in Chinatown held in opposition to the proposed jail in Chinatown and gained city-wide exposure from that conference. Rather than engage the issues brought up by the plan and in furtherance of its own ill-conceived plan, the de Blasio administration expedited a ULURP to prohibit any future jails from being built on Rikers Island. The current proposal is an expansion of the 2019 plan and, as you will see, is applicable to all four proposed high-rise jails. It represents an opportunity to totally reimagine facilities needed for meaningful justice reform and rehabilitation. It can be accomplished without the disruption that would be caused by the current proposal, at a significantly lower cost, in a shorter time frame, and with much greater safety.