NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Some Queens residents have expressed outrage as New York City continues construction on a new jail in Kew Gardens, part of a plan to shutter Rikers Island by 2027.
The facility near Queens Borough Hall will have a major parking garage and a community center that the Department of Design and Construction hopes will help the community.
“It’s getting ridiculous the amenities that criminals have, I mean, there has to be some form of punishment for doing wrong,” Anita, a nurse at an urgent care across from the site, told 1010 WINS on Monday. “It's like they're being rewarded.”
She said Mayor Eric Adams needs to scrap the plan, calling it “ludicrous.”
“Rikers needs to stay separated, where it’s at. I think that’s a good place for it,” she said. “You’re putting that community in the communities, where you have children, elderly. No good.”
The DDC sent out a notice that it was taking over some areas and restricting access around Queens Borough Hall. The construction started with the parking garage and will continue throughout the year. Some major water main replacement will be underway later this summer.
Adams has promised to continue former Mayor Bill de Blasio's $8.3 billion plan to replace Rikers Island with four smaller jails in every borough except Staten Island. The jails would allow incarcerated individuals to be closer to their families as they await trial.
The other sites are planned at the Brooklyn Detention Complex in Boerum Hill, the Manhattan Detention Complex in Chinatown and the NYPD’s Bronx tow pound.
Earlier this month, Chinatown residents protested against the new jail planned for their neighborhood.
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