NEW YORK.- The New York Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) functioned as a maximum security federal prison located in Lower Manhattan.
The MCC was designed to hold 1,600 inmates, but it was often overcrowded.
As a prison it had a series of security units, including a super maximum security unit for the most dangerous inmates.
MCC’s facilities are relatively modern and well-maintained. The cells were individual and had a bed, a desk, a chair, and a closet. Inmates also had access to a weight room, basketball court, and tennis court.
The MCC was criticized for its overcrowded conditions. As of 2018, the prison was housing more than 1,800 inmates, which is more than double its capacity. The overcrowding led to mental health problems and violence.
A former prison to house migrants
New York City officials want to take pressure off overcrowded homeless shelters by housing immigrants in a federal prison that once housed Wall Street gangsters, terrorists and scammers until it was closed after the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein.
The proposal, contained in a letter dated Aug. 9 to the state government, comes as New York struggles to cope with the roughly 100,000 migrants who have poured into the city since last year after entering the United States. from Mexico.
The city has a legal obligation to find shelter for everyone who needs it.
With homeless shelters full, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has turned to hotels, set up cots at recreation centers and school gyms and set up a temporary shelter with tents.
The letter, written by a senior attorney in the city’s legal department, mentions several other places where migrants could be received, such as the former Metropolitan Correctional Center, which closed in 2021.
The dark history of the Metropolitan Correctional Center
This closure occurred after the detention center, whose prisoners include mobster John Gotti, associates of Osama bin Laden and Mexican drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, was left in the eye of the hurricane due to miserable conditions. and security flaws discovered after Epstein’s death.
Lawyers had long complained that the prison was filthy, infested with insects and rodents, and plagued by leaking water and sewage to such an extent that it had caused structural problems.
The letter did not clarify whether the city had already contacted the Federal Bureau of Prisons about the possibility of having access to the prison as a residential shelter for migrants.
As asylum seekers, migrants are not incarcerated and most of them are in the country legally while their asylum applications are being processed, which to a large extent allows them to travel freely.
In a statement, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said that “while we decline to comment on government correspondence, we can say this: The New York MTC is closed, at least temporarily, and long-term plans for the New York MTC York have not been finalized.”
Criticism against the proposal
At least one migrant rights group has criticized the idea of housing migrants in prison.
“Mayor Adams likes to say that all options are on the table when it comes to housing asylum seekers, but some places should definitely be off the table,” said Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the Immigration Coalition. from New York. “The Metropolitan Correctional Center was a prison that was notorious for its poor condition and is not an appropriate place to support people who are trying to build a new life in a new country,” he noted.
The arrivals of migrants to the city have created some tensions between the governor of the state of New York, Kathy Hochul, and the Adams administration. Lawyers for the two Democrats have argued in court over the best way to deal with a problem that has financial, political and humanitarian implications.
In a letter released this week, an attorney representing Hochul sought to rebuff allegations that the state had failed to respond to migrant arrivals in a substantial way, detailing steps the governor has taken while accusing the city of not accept state offers of aid.
“The city has not made timely requests for regulatory changes, has not always promptly shared necessary information with the state, has not put programs in place in a timely manner, and has not consulted with the state before taking certain actions,” the letter states. .
Hochul’s attorney also noted that the state has set aside $1.5 billion for the city to help immigrants and has given the city $250 million for that purpose, but said the city has only filed reimbursement documents for just 138 million dollars.
Avi Small, a spokesperson for Hochul, said in a statement Thursday that “Governor Hochul thanks Mayor Adams and his team for their work in addressing the current humanitarian crisis. Governor Hochul has deployed unprecedented resources to support the City’s efforts and will continue to work closely with them to provide assistance and support.”
The city, in its own filing, has suggested that Hochul use executive orders or litigation to ensure housing for migrants in upstate New York or consider trying to get neighboring states to accept migrants.
City attorneys also requested the use of state properties such as the Jacob K. Javitz Convention Center or the State University of New York dormitories to house the newcomers, in addition to asking the federal government to allow them to use federal sites. such as the Metropolitan Correctional Center and Fort Dix.
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After the end of Title 42, one of the main measures that New York City took to accommodate the massive number of refugees arriving in the Big Apple was to set up school gyms. One of them was public school 188, in Coney Island.
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According to local authorities, more than 65,000 immigrants have arrived in New York and are occupying half of the hotels, which is also affecting tourism and incidentally the local economy.
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With the aim of making things a little easier for undocumented immigrants who have recently arrived in the Big Apple, the organization “Make the Road by Walking” and the University of New York launched a manual that offers them information about the health and housing systems.
2023-08-19 18:00:00
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