Comptroller Cites Court
Ruling, Says Process
Favored Ricci Greene
By Raanan Geberer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — In the wake of a recent court decision limiting expansion of the Brooklyn Heights of Detention, city Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. rejected City Hall’s contract with the architect slated to perform design and construction-related services for the expansion of the controversial facility.
Standing outside the jail with members of the Stop BHOD coalition and others, Thompson also suggested that, in the words of his own press release, “there was corruption in the contracting process.”
Two weeks ago, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Sylvia Hinds-Radix, ruling on a lawsuit by the Stop BHOD coalition, ruled that the House of Detention could reopen as a facility to house prisoners, but could not expand without going through the city’s land use review process.
The contract, with 1100 Architect/Ricci Greene Associates, was signed before the court ruling, said Thompson. Several city officials applauded Thompson on his decision.
Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn Heights/Downtown), said, “The massive prison expansion proposal misappropriates hundreds of millions of dollars that could be spent on critical government services.” Councilman Bill de Blasio (D-Park Slope/Kensington), said, “The administration cannot get away with ignoring our neighborhoods.”
Community groups have long said that the revival of the jail facility, which was essentially closed for about five years, would discourage the ongoing development of Downtown Brooklyn, and would be a tremendous waste of city money at a time of economic distress.
Thompson himself made the same points yesterday, giving the price of the jail as $450 million.
Thompson said, among other things, that:
• The city’s Department of Design and Construction (DDC) “altered the estimated construction cost of the project from $240 million to $450 million without starting the process over”;
• The agency “imposed onerous experience requirements that precluded vendors from participating in the competition, and then awarded the contract to a vendor who failed to meet those same requirements,” and;
• “The selected vendor’s prior experience in designing a prison in Upstate New York resulted in it being sued by Orange County for malpractice and improper design.”
In a prepared statement, he said that “none of the 10 projects listed by Ricci Greene were even close in scope and type to the BHOD project … It’s clear that Ricci Greene did not meet the requirements of the RFP and its proposal should have been immediately rejected by DDC. But instead, it was welcomed with open arms.”
DDC responded to Thompson’s remarks with a statement of its own, saying, among other things, “The initial budget number was provided by our client agency, without DDC input.
“The revised construction number was provided to potential proposers before the RFP was due. However, the cost of construction is not particularly relevant to this procurement which is for design services, based on the type and size of project, and it did not affect the number of proposers.”
As for the problem with Ricci Greene’s Orange County facility, the DDC said it merely concerned a water pipe that burst during the final stages of the project, and that the matter was quickly settled during litigation.
Community Members
Speak Out
Evan Thies, a spokesman for BHOD and a candidate for City Council, speaking to the group, called it a “great day” and said the voice of the community is finally being heard.
Jo Anne Simon, an attorney and a rival City Council candidate, said she had not seen Thompson’s ruling, but said, “The Department of Correction’s [original] plan to expand the House of Detention is very troubling on a lot of levels.” She added the decision to do so had been undertaken with insufficient public input.
Sandy Balboza of the Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association, who was at the press conference, said, “We have been asking for documentation [on the House of Detention] from the beginning. We weren’t getting anywhere. That’s why we signed onto the lawsuit.
“As usual, there was a favored developer here, just as there was one in Atlantic Yards.”
As the conference was wrapping up, one reporter asked Thompson whether his action would stop the Department of Correction’s current plan to re-populate — as opposed to expand — the jail.
Thompson said no, but also said, “The DOC has always said its intention was to expand the jail.”
Another asked whether he planned to make the jail an issue in his campaign for mayor against Bloomberg.
“No,” he said, “but somebody else might do it.”
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