Thompson gives the go-ahead to Brooklyn jail project

William Thompson, former city comptroller, and the downtown jail

Former city Comptroller William Thompson recorded his approval on a design contract to expand a Downtown Brooklyn jail just before his term expired Dec. 31, after months of staunchly opposing the project. Thompson had issued three rejections on the $34 million contract, which the Brooklyn House of Detention needed in order to move forward with plans to double its size and add retail space on the ground floor. “This boondoggle has been a disaster since day one,” Thompson said of the project in November. Thompson is also plaintiff in a suit alongside community groups seeking to have the Atlantic Avenue jail — which was closed in 2003 but was recently allowed to reopen to overnight guests — shut down altogether. City lawyer Christopher King told the Daily News that Thompson’s approval was issued after the city agreed to drop a suit that would force him to register the contract. [NYDN]