Brooklyn House of Detention Can Resume Full Capacity; Injunction Issued As to Expansion
By Ryan Thompson
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
ADAMS STREET — Kings County Supreme Court Justice Sylvia Hinds-Radix ruled Wednesday that the city’s Department of Correction (DOC) may go forward with its plan to fully utilize the Brooklyn House of Detention (BHOD) without going through environmental and land use reviews.
The judge, however, did issue a preliminary injunction as to the planned expansion of the jail – meaning the city would have to go through the necessary legal steps and environmental reviews, as it would otherwise for a new project or development.
The jail, located on Atlantic Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, was not used to house overnight inmates from 2003 to November 2008, when the DOC relocated 31 inmates into the jail in preparation for the facility’s return to its full operating capacity of 759 inmates.
In January, local politicians held a rally on the steps of the Brooklyn Supreme Court hours before the controversial “Stop BHOD” case went before the judge to determine the legality of the planned reopening and expansion of the jail.
Local politicians, including Comptroller Bill Thompson, and a Brooklyn community group known as “Stop BHOD” sued the city late last year to halt the planned renovations and expansion of the Brooklyn jail, which has remained largely dormant over recent years.
Randy Mastro, lead attorney for the petitioners (and also a possibility for Manhattan District Attorney) had argued that the jail had been closed and could not be reopened without the appropriate reviews. The city argued that they were entitled to temporarily and substantially close one of their facilities, without being barred from using the facility again in its full capacity in the future.
According to the DOC, the jail also served daily as the point of arrival and departure for hundreds of inmates appearing at the adjacent Brooklyn Criminal Court at 120 Schermerhorn St.
“The court’s decision clears the way for the city to continue to use the Brooklyn Detention Center as a jail for Brooklyn, just as it has since 1957,” said DOC Commissioner Martin F. Horn. “We will continue to maintain the jail in a condition for occupancy at its capacity, and we will utilize the jail as needed. ... We are gratified that in affirming the city’s ability to operate the Brooklyn jail at full capacity, Justice Hinds-Radix acknowledged and supported these objectives.”
In Wednesday’s decision, Justice Hinds-Radix ruled that the planned reopening and planned expansion of BHOD were separate and distinct projects for the purposes of environmental and land use review. Justice Hinds-Radix allowed the city to reopen the existing jail without going through the extensive environmental and land use review procedures that petitioners sought. However, the court did opine that these review procedures would likely be required before DOC could expand the jail.
“With many aged facilities on Rikers Island continuing to deteriorate, and knowing that defendants in the city’s jails will always be best served when they are held closer to their courts and communities, we will continue to reduce our reliance on Rikers Island,” Horn continued.
Commissioner Horn concluded, “We are also gratified that the court recognized that we have always acted openly and communicated with the community and its elected leaders about our plan for the past three years or more, and that the court rejected allegations to the contrary.”
Michael Cardozo, the City’s Corporation Counsel said: “We are pleased with the court’s ruling and believe that Justice Hinds-Radix understood that the city must have the ability to reopen and reuse its existing facilities and infrastructure without the need for environmental and land use review procedures. This need is particularly great in these trying fiscal times.”
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