Chinatown, one of New York's most famous neighborhoods, is known for its narrow streets and the strong sense of community felt by its residents. However, the neighborhood in midtown Manhattan, “sandwiched” between SoHo and Tribeca, would become known for another reason: being home to the world’s longest prison.
The Manhattan Detention Complex, nicknamed “The Tombs,” and the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island will stop housing prisoners before the end of November. The facility currently houses about 750 people.
Known by locals as the “Jail Scraper”, the massive prison is about 100 meters high, has 40 floors, will be a third the height of the Empire State Building and will contain 1,040 cells. The prison's imposing shadow will extend for five blocks, leaving much of the area in darkness during the winter.
White Street residents have long fought to have the Manhattan detention complex, also called “the Tombs,” not be “in their backyard”: However, the demolition of the building to make way for the prison tower has stoked pain. The foundations for the new prison have not yet been laid, but residents told the New York Times that they are preparing for their lives to get worse. “We are a dumping ground,” said Jan Lee, co-founder of Neighbors United Below Canal, a nonprofit group that represents local leaders and businesses.
New York in 2019 announced an $8.3 billion plan to build four new prisons in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx to replace Rikers Island.
Activists spent years fighting the project, successfully suing the city in 2020 to temporarily halt construction. But an appeals court ruling the following year allowed the project to go ahead.
More than 57,000 people live in Chinatown, according to 2022 data, including 34,295 of Asian origin. Nearly a third of the people living at the demolition site are age 65 or older.
1/ Urgent: #Chinatown The mega prison must be stopped.
Chinatown needs your help! Here's what happens: pic.twitter.com/RN0ci1EBFm
— Welcome to Chinatown (@WtChinatown) February 11, 2022
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