New York City is set to begin construction on the world's tallest jail, where over 1,000 prisoners will be detained in a massive 40-floor tower. The size of the planned complex has drawn intense criticism from locals.
The new jail will be built on the site of the former Manhattan Detention Complex, colloquially known as the Tombs, at 124-125 White Street in Chinatown, just south of SoHo and east of Tribeca.
The Tombs will be replaced by the new detention center dubbed the "Jailscraper" by locals. It will be 300 feet tall – a third as high as the Empire State Building – with 40 floors and 1,040 beds. It will have underground parking and around 20,000 square feet of community and commercial space on the street level.
Construction is expected to begin by early 2025, when the demolition of the Tombs is expected to be mostly finished, according to demolition contractor the Gramercy Group. (Related: Alabama building a $1 billion, 4,000-bed prison – the most expensive prison in U.S. history.)
The tower will be so massive that its shadow is expected to stretch more than five blocks, casting most of Chinatown in darkness for much of the day.
Lower Manhattan residents up in arms over construction of Jailscraper
Lower Manhattan residents – especially locals and businesses of Chinatown – are protesting vigorously over the Jailscraper's construction. They warn that they are already suffering a year before the Jailscraper is set to begin construction, thanks to the demolition work being done on the Tombs causing a lot of earthshaking noise and dust.
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Since demolition began last spring, residents have noted widening cracks in a wall at the Chunk Pak senior housing center next door, a mixed-use building that also includes a daycare center, medical facilities and other commercial tenants. Nearby residents have also been forced to keep their windows shut for most of the day to block out the noise and dust from the demolition.
Longtime businesses in the area have warned locals that they may have to close because of the reduced foot traffic or costly renovations they have to do on their affected businesses. The Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, a tenant of Chung Pak, said it was forced to move pediatric services out of the building last spring because of the ceaseless noise and the leaky ceilings that appeared at the start of the demolition.
Locals fear that a years-long construction process will only become even more disruptive. But New York City Councilman Christopher Marte (D-Lower East Side) said during a community board meeting that he believes "this is a worst-case scenario." Marte represents all of Lower Manhattan and Ellis, Liberty and Governors Islands.
"We are the dumping ground," said Jan Lee, co-founder of Neighbors United Below Canal, a nonprofit representing Chinatown residents and business owners. He pointed out how hypocritical it was for the city to be spending billions on a new 1,000-bed jail while Chinatown is home to several homeless shelters and there have been no major affordable housing initiatives in years.
Lee further warned that many restaurants nearby will not survive the construction of the jail, including the late-night Cantonese restaurant at 21 Mott, whose owner – Hop Kee – is one of Lee's tenants.
The Jailscraper is part of a 2019, $8.3 billion initiative passed by the City Council to build four new jails in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Proponents claim Jailscraper and the three other new jails will be vital to the city's effort to close down Rikers Island, infamously known for its high rates of violence and death among detainees. Rikers is legally mandated to shut down by 2027, but City Hall believes this deadline needs to be pushed back.
Gramercy is also working overtime to win over the community. The group has already committed to repairing the damage to Chung Pak. Tenants, however, fear that the continuation of the demolition work could cause more damage.
Watch this Fox Business clip featuring Rep. Bryan Donalds (R-FL) discussing how New York has "lost its ever-loving mind."
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