Thank you everyone for sharing this petition with your friends and family! There's no need to donate to this petition. Instead, please consider donating to Neighbors United Below Canal: https://www.gofundme.com/f/stop-manhattan-mega-jail.

Video: Candidate Adams speech from April 2021, saying no new jail. In Chinatown.

NYC is about to build the TALLEST jail in the world. The heart of Manhattan Chinatown, which already has 3 jails. Including the Manhattan Detention Center, the Tombs, and the Metropolitan correction Center on Park Row.

There are protests going on right now and we're not just protesting the jail. There needs a change in the prison system. The cost of housing one inmate in NYC is now $556,539 per person per year. That's over half a million dollars or $1,525 every day. Most of us do not make this kind of money but this is coming out of our taxpayer dollars. Money that could go to resources for mental health, housing, and services that will address long standing problems in communities of color all over New York City.

Also there’s a lot of unanswered questions like what is going to happen to Riker’s Island. Are we going to 'handout' contracts to build hotels there? Or are we actually going to help the nearby communities like Hunts Point. 

And if you’re going to build four new mega-jails, are you going to do better? Or are we just making it bigger to cram more people in? Creating more dysfunctional jails within communities is not the answer.

If you want more answers before we build another prison, sign this petition and follow Welcome to Chinatown and Neighbors United Below Canal to help us to reach out to Mayor Adams to stop this mega jail. 

From Welcome to Chinatown:

"In 2017, Mayor Deblasio approved a $8.3 billion borough based jail program that includes building the world’s tallest jail in Chinatown.

The plan would demolish the current two Manhattan Detention Complexes to create a new 40 story jail. Construction will last until at least 2027. 

Using public funds to further mass incarceration is not the answer. We are calling on Mayor Adams to stop the proposed plan and reconsider alternatives for the $8.3 billion plan that invest in education, health care, mental health, and more. Invest in people, not jails. 

The impact to Chinatown will be devastating. The proposed jail will use both Centre Street and Baxter Streets for construction, an already densely populated area with senior housing, green space, and small businesses. Chinatown still has not fully recovered from September 11th, the closure of Park Row, ongoing construction of Brooklyn Bridge, and COVID-19. 

Chinatown cannot become a construction site and home of the world’s largest jail. 

How you can help:
Contact Mayor Adams by phone and submit a webform message urging Mayor Adams to stop the construction. We have less than two weeks until the demolition starts.

Phone: Call 311 or 212-NEW-YORK if you’re outside NYC
Email: https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/mayor-contact.page

Suggested template (We highly encourage you to personalize your letter. 

Message Topic: General Views
Message:

Mayor Adams,
The potential $8.3 billion borough based jail program will be detrimental to New Yorkers, current and future. It will cause irreversible harm and using public funds to further mass incarceration is not the answer. We ask that you halt the construction of the borough based jail, especially Chinatown’s mega jail and consider alternative options. Constructing the tallest jail in the world will change the fabric of the community, diminish quality of life for residents, and cause harm for an already marginalized community. I urge you to stop the demolition of Manhattan Detention Center and construction of the mega jail in Chinatown. 

Please share and encourage your community to do the same. We have less than two weeks before demolition begins."