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Brooklyn jailhouse sits empty, awaiting possible expansion?
Josh Guttman | November 16, 2007
It occured to me recently that our local jailhouse at Atlantic and Smith has probably become one of the most valuable pieces of real estate to house a jailhouse in the country. Surely, there is a better location where a Brooklyn jailhouse could be relocated. Worst of all, a little research shows that the jailhouse has been closed since 2003 so it’s not even operational right now. Dennis Holt reported in the Brooklyn Eagle back in May that the city’s Correction Department wants to reopen the Brooklyn Detention Complex and double its current capacity to house 1,400 inmates. One politician has proposed a controversial plan that would involve leasing the bottom levels for retail and housing, while leaving the upper levels open as a functioning jail. This is ludicrous. The city could make far more money by selling or leasing the land to a developer and relocating the jail to a less desirable neighborhood. I don’t think the inmates will mind. Holt suggests a parcel of land on the Gowanus. How about somewhere along Fulton Street Mall or down Atlantic Ave?
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