STATEMENT FROM BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ RE: Proposed New Jail in The Bronx

UsanewsOnline.Com Desk, New York : “I was surprised to learn that the administration has already selected a site for a new jail in The Bronx. I hope that, going forward, this lack of outreach is not a harbinger of the amount of community input the people of my borough will have in this process. I expect that the administration will present my office with a detailed outline of their plans for a new jail, and I will examine those plans carefully as the process moves forward. “Criminal justice reform, and the need for a fairer court system, is a defining issue of our time. I was proud to work to end ‘stop and frisk’ and to ‘raise the age’ of criminal liability, and that work informs my office’s current efforts to end cash bail and reform parole. Our jail system is a human rights violation, and efforts to limit the unconstitutional levels of our jail population are certainly welcome. “However, any new site for a jail in this borough must be thoroughly vetted, and the people of The Bronx must have a meaningful say in the selection of any future site, be it the one that has been proposed in Mott Haven or other appropriate sites that could host a new jail. Presenting the selection of this site as a fait accompli undermines the entire process, and has the potential to derail necessary criminal justice reform,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. Press Release.