Proposal for Mott Haven Jail Faces Uncertain Fate in City Planning Commission | Mott Haven Herald

A Mott Haven jail that would tower over schools a block away and house more than a thousand detainees is not a recipe for community improvement, argued dozens of Bronxites at a City Planning Commission hearing on July 9 in Manhattan.

The Planning Commission’s decision about building new jails in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn marks the third of five official phases in the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP) on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposal to replace the jails on Rikers Island within a decade.

The public hearing was the first to take place outside of the boroughs where the jails are planned since the mayor announced the proposal early last year. So far, all four community boards and three of the four borough presidents alike voted down the plan. The only borough president to approve the plan, Manhattan’s Gail Brewer, did so with a host of stipulations. Continue reading.