Goodbye Supersized, Butt Ugly Brooklyn House of Detention Condos, Hello Bigger Jail

Back in May, Martin F. Horn, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Correction was personally offended with the Brooklyn Eagle's description of the proposed expansion of the Brooklyn House of Detention as “dispiriting and … ugly.”

The plans included a 165,000 "ground square feet expansion" for 720 inmate beds; and -- here's the weird part -- up to two huge towers of residential or commercial space wrapped around the jail -- arranged so neither the inmates nor their luxury neighbors could actually see one another. (Though they might be able to visit by drilling their way through with a sharpened toothbrush.)

Alas, the whole supersized jail-aganza is over, reports the Eagle. Only one developer expressed interest in the proposal. So now the city Department of Correction is dropping the condo-wrapped-around-a-jail part and they're just going to make the jail bigger.

So there, concerned neighbors!

Brooklyn Jail Expansion Moves Forward, Sans Residential Towers Brooklyn Eagle

Past posts on the Brooklyn House of detention here.

Photo by MK Metz