Timeline (to present)

2018:

• KGCA became aware of the mayor's plan to build a high-rise jail in Kew Gardens. After a meeting with Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz and a team of low-level representatives from the Mayor's office, it became clear that the proposed plan was done without community input and was regarded by the Mayor as a “done deal.”

2019:

• KGCA organized a town hall meeting about the jail.

• KGCA made contact and coordinated demonstrations against the jail with representatives from the Bronx, Brooklyn and Chinatown in Manhattan where the mayor also proposed high-rise jails.

• KGCA representatives participated in demonstrations and went to meetings in front of the City Planning Commission, Community Board 9 and the Borough President testifying against the jail. 

2020:

• June - The City Council approved the jails in June as part of the budget process,

• July - KGCA raised donations and joined a coalition with residents from Briarwood and Forest Hills and sued the city for not following proper procedures in obtaining approvals for the jails. Residents of Chinatown in Manhattan and Mott Haven in the Bronx filed their own lawsuits against the city.

• September - Chinatown prevailed at a lower court and the city was stopped from doing any demolition or construction at the Manhattan site.

 2021:

• February - The Queens coalition's attorney argued our case before the judge in Queens.

• March - The judge hearing the Bronx case ruled against Mott Haven and the City's appeal of the Chinatown decision was decided in the City's favor and the lower court was reversed allowing the Chinatown project to proceed.

• April - the judge in our case ruled against us. KGCA met with its attorney and consulted with the other boroughs on plans to stop the jails. It was decided not to appeal the lower court decision in light of the decisions and reversal in the other boroughs.

• October - KGCA organized zoom interviews with candidates for the city council and the mayoralty to determine which of them would oppose the construction of the jail.  

2022:

• January - KGCA briefed Councilwoman Lynn Schulman on community concerns with the Borough Based Jails program and urged her to consider the Alternative Plan as a viable option.

A Solution: Rikers Island Jail Alternative 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.