Elected Officials' Positions

Elected Officials Stand with Community in Opposition to HOD Inmate Expansion
Our local and state elected officials stand united with the Community Stakeholders Group and the broader Downtown Brooklyn community in opposition to expansion of the inmate population of the Brooklyn House of Detention. These officials are:

• Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz
• United States Congressman Edolphus Towns
• New York State Senator Velmanette Montgomery
• New York State Senator Martin Connor
  
• New York State Assemblywoman Joan Millman
• New York City Councilman David Yassky

In a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg on February 22, 2008, our elected officials came together to draw attention to the issue.

Click here to read letter

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Response of the Mayor's Office and Stakeholders' Next Steps
To date, the Community Stakeholders have been disappointed by the lack of direct communication from the Mayor's office back to our elected officials. A reply came only from the desk of DOC Commissioner Horn. The community has heard from Commissioner Horn in great detail over the past year, and we continue to reject the DOC's position that doubling the inmate population of the Brooklyn HOD serves justice and our densely populated community.

The Community Stakeholders Group desires full and productive dialog with city officials to work toward innovative use of the Brooklyn HOD site. As a next step and with the help of our local politicians and Community Boards, we are calling for the formation of a formal task force for the site. Future discussions or development considerations concerning the site should rightfully include direct representation from the surrounding neighborhoods. This is in keeping with similar currently ongoing task forces and other planning projects for Downtown Brooklyn.

Click here to read letter

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Community Board 2
Community Board 2 communicated in a letter to the Department of City Planning on April 19, 2007 that they had voted unanimously to oppose expansion of the Brooklyn Detention Complex, reiterating the "bad neighbor" concerns of the past and also the fact that more residential development has occurred in the area since the DOC facility closed in 2003.

Click here to read letter

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