{"id":259879,"date":"2026-06-08T23:55:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T23:55:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/259879\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T23:55:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T23:55:22","slug":"construction-of-jail-in-tony-nyc-nabe-turns-into-clown-show-records-locals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/259879\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction of jail in tony NYC nabe turns into ‘clown show’: records, locals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The city\u2019s construction of a new jail in posh Boerum Hill <\/a>has devolved into a potentially deadly \u201cclown show\u201d \u2014 raining rooftop concrete, buckets and sheet metal onto the street, according to records and locals.<\/p>\n

The problem-plagued project, one of several jails being built around the Big Apple to replace decrepit Rikers Island<\/a>, was recently slapped with its fourth stop-work order in two years for such violations as allegedly letting \u201cdangerous\u201d debris repeatedly fly off its 300-foot-tall roof.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could have killed somebody falling from that distance,\u201d said Lori Richmond, a member of the condo board of managers at the tony hi-rise 53 Boerum Place across the street, to The Post.<\/p>\n

Construction underway at the site of a new jail in Boerum Hills, Brooklyn on June 4, 2026. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were buckets, falling drill bits, cardboard cans, all kinds of things. We\u2019ve seen stuff that\u2019s related to actual construction materials, but we\u2019ve also seen trash that\u2019s generated by the workers,\u201d Richmond said. \u201cWhatever they\u2019re having for lunch, and it\u2019s flying off onto to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richmond and her neighbors said they have been sounding the alarm for months, even shutting down the block\u2019s outdoor patio area because of falling debris, but that the contractor and city claimed many times the site was in compliance.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until a massive sheet-metal duct landed on the lux condo\u2019s shut-down patio last month that the latest official stop-order was put on the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a clown show \u2026 If the construction now is an example, I would be very concerned about what they\u2019re actually going to be cutting on the inside as well,\u201d Richmond said.<\/p>\n

Another neighbor claimed, \u201cBuilding construction is causing insulated debris to be floated in the air, and this is burning eyes and throat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The construction project has received four stop-work orders in two years due to allegedly letting debris fly off the roof. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n

Construction workers and building materials seen at the Boerum Hill jail site. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n

Local city Councilman Lincoln Restler told his constituents in a newsletter this week that the construction has caused \u201cunacceptable impacts on local neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than two dozen complaints about the site have been logged since the 15-story project broke ground in November 2024, according to a review of city data.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can taste cement if you walk on State Street, even through [a] mask,\u201d area resident Eli, 34, said of the Atlantic Avenue site. \u201cIt\u2019s got to be dangerous. \u2026 Rip open a bag of cement mix and stick your head in \u2014 that\u2019s what it tastes like, the air.\u201d<\/p>\n

A female resident of 53 Boerum said, \u201cThe noise is kind of neck and neck with the dust.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see [the dust] on all the cars.\u201d<\/p>\n

The site has been issued four stop-work orders by city inspectors in the past two years \u2013 including a pair handed down in the past two months \u2013 over safety fears, according to publicly available data.<\/a><\/p>\n

A partial stop-work order was issued May 6 when the Department of Buildings found \u201cinadequate house keeping<\/a>\u201d and safety netting, resulting in debris falling on the roof and patio at 53 Boerum.<\/p>\n

The order was lifted, and work resumed May 8 \u2014 just weeks before the agency dinged the site again on May 21 with another stop-work order.<\/p>\n

During that visit, inspectors found \u201cunsecured debris at [the] perimeter edge\u201d falling on a nearby property during severe weather.<\/p>\n

Work resumed after May 26 when the Department of Buildings was provided with a plan \u201cdetailing how the site will secure debris from falling,\u201d records show.<\/p>\n

Scaffolding over the sidewalk at the construction site. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n

Locals told The Post a number of objects, including drill bits and buckets, have fallen off the building. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n

A Post request for comment from the DOB, which issues the stop-work orders, was referred to the city\u2019sDepartment of Design and Construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cDDC takes safety concerns very seriously and is working closely with DOB to ensure that any issues arising from the Brooklyn \u2026 facility are properly addressed,\u201d a rep for the department told The Post. <\/p>\n

\u201cPrior to the Stop Work Order from two weeks ago, the contractor had already begun to install environmental remediation measures to better protect the community \u2013 we will continue to work with DOB moving forward.\u201d <\/p>\n

Neighborhood residents have claimed that dust from the construction site is causing burning in the eyes and throats of locals. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n

An ironworker welding steel beams at the jail construction site. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n

The department added that other \u201ccorrective\u201d actions have been put into place in coordination with DOB officials, including full-height orange safety netting along all four sides of the new building perimeter on several floors, as well as a 5-foot-high net on additional floors; more \u201chousekeeping\u201d manpower, improved debris removal and the securing of all loose construction materials.<\/p>\n

A visit from DOB inspectors earlier this week to inspect safety compliance and cranes found \u201cno issues,\u201d the department noted.<\/p>\n

But some nearby residents said they are not too optimistic after construction debris, including plastic buckets and foot-long metal-duct-work materials, landed around 53 Boerum after \u201cnew operational protocol\u201d were implemented following the May 6 stop-work order.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy team and I are continuing to monitor conditions extremely closely,\u201d Restler said of the site, which is slated to be completed by spring 2029.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have long supported the urgent plan to close Rikers,\u201d he said. \u201d But the city needs to ensure this project follows all construction regulations and doesn\u2019t endanger the neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The city\u2019s construction of a new jail in posh Boerum Hill has devolved into a potentially deadly \u201cclown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259880,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[15608,98,1527,68,3130,57,9,56,63,65,64,1083,58],"class_list":["post-259879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-boerum-hill","tag-brooklyn","tag-construction","tag-exclusive","tag-jail","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-rikers-island","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259879\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}