Gale Brewer wants to turn “prime, trophy real estate” into women’s jail

Gale Brewer proposes the Lincoln Correctional Facility at 31–33 West 110th Street for a women’s jail after Rikers closes

Gale Brewer proposes women’s jail at Lincoln Correctional Facility (Credit: Getty Images and iStock)
Gale Brewer proposes women’s jail at Lincoln Correctional Facility (Credit: Getty Images and iStock)

When imagining the future of the city, one person’s luxury condo is another person’s women’s jail.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is eyeing the former Lincoln Correctional Facility as a place for the female inmates currently held on Rikers Island, The City reported.

It’s part of a broader plan to build four new city jails that’s been met with ire from residents. And the real estate industry may too share that sentiment.

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Since the news broke that the Harlem jail was set to close, brokers have been salivating, with one Sotheby’s agent calling it “prime, trophy real estate.” The soon-to-be decommissioned jail currently houses around 275 inmates for mostly drug-related crimes.

But while brokers imagined a new luxury development for the Harlem site, which at 31–33 West 110th Street boasts sweeping views of Central Park, Brewer was concocting a different plan for the property.

The feasibility of the plan has yet to be determined — and no decision has been made, according to state officials. New York State owns the property, so according to the Mayor’s office, the plan would only work if Gov. Andrew Cuomo ceded ownership of the site to the city. [The City] — Georgia Kromrei