BP’s State of the Borough
calls out Mott Haven jail plan
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Borough President Ruben
Diaz, Jr. addressed many issues
during his State of the
Borough speech on Thursday,
February 21.
One specific item, which
has been on the mind of
many Bronxites, was Mayor
de Blasio’s proposed Mott
Haven jail for an NYPD tow
pound at 320 Concord Avenue.
“We’re not accepting
this,” the borough president
said. “We will continue to
make a case that Mott Haven
is not the best location
for a jail,” Diaz continued
during his speech saying
that a new jail belongs next
to the Bronx Hall of Justice
on East 161st Street.
“Criminal justice reform
experts say jails should be
located near courthouses
for a myriad humane of reasons
in the interest of justice,”
Diaz said.
“We must continue to
fight crime humanely and
intelligently,” the borough
president added.
The borough president
also called the de Blasio
administration’s priorities
“entirely misguided,” going
on to question how the city
can spend millions to erect
a Bronx jail but not allocate
proper funding for schools
within the borough.
Diaz also criticized a lack
of community input from
the city regarding the jail’s
plan.
Specifically towards the
Mott Haven community’s
plan for the land now-to-be
used for the jail.
In attendance at the State
of the Borough was Arline
Parks, the CEO of Diego
Beekman Mutual Housing,
whom orchestrated a plan
to acquire the NYPD tow
pound in efforts to convert
the yard into additional affordable
housing.
Diaz, Parks, and Congressman
Jose E. Serrano
had previously joined forces
to fight the jail, forming a
coalition called ‘Justice for
the Bronx.’
“As Bronx Borough President
Diaz and Congressman
Serrano show leader-
Borough President Diaz spoke to the current state of the Bronx. Photo by Fernando Justiniano
ship and courage on behalf
of low-income people of
color, other elected officials
like Mayor de Blasio, Councilwoman
Diana Ayala and
Councilwoman Vanessa
Gibson are betraying the
residents of Mott Haven and
the principles of social justice,”
Parks said after the
speech.
She went on to express
her own sentiment that the
jail belongs on East 161st
Street, saying it shouldn’t be
“in the middle of a residential
community that is already
struggling to clean up
its crime-ridden streets.”
While praising Diaz and
his efforts to eradicate the
Mott Haven jail plan, Parks
also “demands the Mayor
and the City Council act to
move the Bronx jail site immediately.”
Other major topics Diaz
addressed during his presentation
concerned the
Bronx’s opioid epedemic, the
conversion of the Sheridan
Expressway into a streetlevel,
crossable boulevard,
the anticipated YMCA for
Edenwald, along with cleaning
up NYCHA housing
along with much more.
BRONX TIMES R 22 EPORTER, MARCH 1-7, 2019 BTR
(l-r) Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Assembly members Karines Reyes
and Marcos Crespo, District Attorney Darcel Clark and Congressman Jose
Serrano attended the borough event. Photo by Fernando Justiniano
Barbara Gibson-La Grant met with Senator Jose Serrano (back, c) and his
father Congressman Jose Serrano prior to the address.
Photo by Fernando Justiniano