Pressure Mounts on City to Halt Plans for Towering Jail in Chinatown

Following the march through Chinatown, demonstrators filled the playing fields of Columbus Park to hear speeches. Photo courtesy of Asian Wave Alliance 

By
CARL GLASSMAN
Posted
Mar. 21, 2022

Update 4/7/22: The city announced today that beginning on Monday, April 11, construction fencing will start going up along Centre Street, in the vicinity of Walker and White Streets. Once the fencing is up, White Street between Centre and Baxter will be closed. "There's been a hold on the exterior work as the Mayor reviewed everything," a spokesman for the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice said in a statement. The fence construction had been set to begin in early March. 

Protesters by the hundreds marched through the streets of Chinatown on Sunday, decrying the city’s plan for a 295-foot “mega jail” in the neighborhood. This latest, and largest yet, demonstration comes as the city prepares to begin its $125 million demolition of the Manhattan Detention Complex, the two hulking structures at 124-125 White Street. In its place would likely be the tallest jail in the world, part of the de Blasio administration’s $8.3 billion plan to close Rikers Island and build four borough-based jails.

Opponents say that years of demolition and construction will be an economic and environmental disaster for the neighborhood and an act of discrimination against Asian Americans.

“Today, we’re here united to say this is not a done deal,” City Councilman Christopher Marte told the cheering crowd gathered in Columbus Park.  

Marte, co-founder of Neighbors United Below Canal, a group formed to fight the jail, said at a press briefing earlier this month that organized protests and his talks with Adams administration officials have already led to a delay in the start of demolition. A fence around the site, originally scheduled to go up on March 4, has yet to be constructed.

“In Chinatown, because of our voices, there are no fences. Because of our voices, the city doesn’t know what it’s going to do yet,” Marte said.

“The city is on a timeline,” he later added. “They have to legally close Rikers Island by 2027. Any time that we can delay the start of even a construction fence is a win for our community.” 

Opponents announced this month that they are preparing for a federal lawsuit against the city’s Chinatown jail plan.

“We believe the city has denied our community equal protection and due process under the law,” said Vera Sung, whose father, Thomas Sung, a Chinatown banker, helped finance legal actions against the city in state courts. (The opponents prevailed in the state’s lowest court but met defeat on appeal by the city.) “These are violations of our rights under the Constitution of the United States and we must hold the city accountable for such violations.” She called on individuals and businesses who oppose the jail to join as friends-of-the court plaintiffs. 

In April 2021, then candidate Adams attended a rally with opponents of the proposed jail building to declare his support. “I join you today in saying no new jail. No building up a jail in this location,” he said. “We can do a better job and I know it’s possible to solve the problems we are facing with incarceration without the destruction of communities.” As mayor, he has yet to say whether he will stand by his promise.

“Promises made need to be promises kept,” said Howard Huie, an activist with Neighbors United Below Canal. “If this community cannot trust the mayor then no Asian community in New York can trust the mayor.”  

A City Hall spokesperson responded to the Trib’s questions about the administration’s position with a statement. 

“Before the new administration took over, the city began to move forward with plans for a Manhattan Detention Complex site as part of its commitment to closing the jails on Rikers Island by 2027,” the statement said. “As supported by groups across the city, four new, smaller, more modern facilities close to courts and communities were to be built across the boroughs. The city will continue to meet with communities, hear their concerns, and incorporate their feedback into the on-going process.”