Vernon C. Bain Center

October 10, 2019

The East River prison barge, intended to be temporary, draws ire amid plans to close Rikers

The Vernon C. Bain Center, an 800-capacity floating jail in the East River, costs $24 million a year to operate and was supposed to be permanently shut down decades ago. Opened in 1992 to help with an overcrowded prison system due in part to the crack epidemic, the 625-foot-long motorless barge has been docked along New York City's shoreline since then, the New York Times reports. And as the city plans to shut down Rikers Island, overhaul the criminal justice system, and create more humane jails with fewer inmates, advocates say the barge has to go. The city has pledged to close the facility once the City Council votes on the prison reform plan; both Rikers and Bain would close by 2026.
What happened to 'temporary?'

Policy

Past Prisons: Inside the new lives of 7 former NYC jails

A 1938 photo showing the Women’s House of Detention south of the Jefferson Market Courthouse, via NYPL

April 10, 2017

Past Prisons: Inside the new lives of 7 former NYC jails

By Penelope Bareau

The past week has been full of news about Rikers Island and Mayor de Blasio's announcement that the notorious prison will be closed and replaced with smaller facilities throughout the boroughs. Ideas for re-use of its 413 acres have included commercial, residential and mixed-use properties; academic centers; sports and recreation facilities; a convention center; or an expansion of nearby LaGuardia airport. And while anything final is estimated to be a decade away, this isn't the first prison in NYC to be adaptively reused. From a health spa to a production studio to a housing development, 6sqft explores the new lives of seven past prisons.
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History

This Barge Floating in the East River Is Home to 800 Prisoners

Photo via Wiki Commons

June 19, 2015

This Barge Floating in the East River Is Home to 800 Prisoners

By Dana Schulz

Thanks to "Law & Order" and "Orange Is the New Black," we all think we're experts on the local prison system. But there's a lot more to incarceration than Elliot Stabler's interrogation room and the Litchfield Penitentiary. For example, we bet you didn't know there's a giant floating barge in the East River that is home to 800 prisoners? The Vernon C. Bain Center is a 47,326-ton jail barge used by the New York City Department of Corrections, located near Hunts Point in the Bronx just one mile west of the SUNY Maritime College. It was built in 1992 in New Orleans for $161 million as a means to curb overcrowding at Rikers Island. In the past, it's been a facility for traditional inmates and juveniles, but today it's used as a temporary holding and processing center.
Find out more about this floating prison

History

Vernon C. Bain Center

The East River prison barge, intended to be temporary, draws ire amid plans to close Rikers

Past Prisons: Inside the new lives of 7 former NYC jails

This Barge Floating in the East River Is Home to 800 Prisoners

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