N.Y. Nixes $375 Million Bronx Jail Proposal

NEW YORK — The mayor’s office announced the withdrawal of its plan to build a 2,040-bed jail in the Bronx.

The $375 million jail development in the south Bronx formed part of the city’s Department of Correction plan to reduce overcrowding at the main jail complex on Rikers Island, officials say.

The siting of the proposed Oak Point Detention Center development, which is close to the borough’s courthouse complex, was opposed by local residents, business owners, community organizations and elected representatives. The DOC will continue its search for a suitable site in the south Bronx, officials say.

City officials proposed building the Oak Point facility on a 27-acre industrial site in 2006. Located near Rikers Island, the former railway yard, which had become an illegal dumping ground for construction waste in recent years, is one of the largest pieces of undeveloped commercial real estate in the city.

The area is already home to two juvenile detention facilities and the 800-bed Vernon C. Bain jail barge was moored nearby on the East River for several years.

The decision to terminate the Oak Point development will not impact the city’s plans to expand and reopen the Brooklyn Detention Complex, which was shuttered in 2003, officials say. The new 10-story center will double the Brooklyn facility’s original 700-bed capacity, officials say.