Oppose NYC Jail Construction:
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TAKE ACTION and read the complete latest update here (September 19, 2018).
Date: September 19, 2018
Alongside other residents and community organizations, Critical Resistance New York City (CRNYC) has long taken the position that the city must work to immediately close Rikers without constructing new jails. Despite growing community opposition to jail expansion, Mayor de Blasio continues to push forward his plan for four new borough-based jails. We will continue to demand that the City invest instead in life-affirming resources and work to reduce imprisonment and policing. On Monday, opponents to this jail plan came together in a strong showing of unity to demand: No New Jails in New York City! Help us build our power and grow the movement to defeat jail construction. Read more here.
BACKGROUND:
Multiple news outlets have reported that the de Blasio administration presented construction options for a new Lower Manhattan jail to a select group of elected officials and community-board officers last Thursday. One proposed site is a government building at 80 Centre Street, which would be gutted and rebuilt to rise as high as 40 stories. This enormous jail expansion proposal, accelerated timeline, and aim to begin construction in the summer of 2019 clearly shows that the city is moving recklessly toward replicating Rikers and ensuring that massive new jails divert resources away from communities and persist long into the future.
