Bronx Jail Barge to Open, Though the Cost Is Steep (original) (raw)
New York|Bronx Jail Barge to Open, Though the Cost Is Steep
https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/27/nyregion/bronx-jail-barge-to-open-though-the-cost-is-steep.html
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- Jan. 27, 1992
Credit...The New York Times Archives
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January 27, 1992
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New York City's most expensive jail -- a 161million,800−bedprisonbarge−−willopenintheBronxnextmonth,18monthsbehindscheduleand161 million, 800-bed prison barge -- will open in the Bronx next month, 18 months behind schedule and 161million,800−bedprisonbarge−−willopenintheBronxnextmonth,18monthsbehindscheduleand35 million over its original budget.
Officials in the Correction Department, which operates the city's jail system, attributed the high price tag to unanticipated design and construction problems. An additional 9millionwasspenttoprepareadocksite,raisingthetotalcostto9 million was spent to prepare a dock site, raising the total cost to 9millionwasspenttoprepareadocksite,raisingthetotalcostto170 million.
William H. Booth, the chairman of the Board of Correction, an independent body that monitors city prisons, said the shipbuilder should have foreseen the problems and should have been held liable for more of the cost.
"This should be our last barge," said Mr. Booth. "They're too expensive and too uncertain." 'Clearly Misspent'
John R. Horan, the board's vice chairman and David Lenefsky, a board member, also questioned the need for 800 more prison beds as the city's jail population generally has been below its maximum capacity of 21,800 since the summer. "The money was clearly misspent," said Mr. Horan.
Built by Avondale Industries at a shipyard on the Mississippi River near New Orleans, the flat-bottom vessel was towed 1,800 nautical miles and arrived on Wednesday at its berth in the East River at Halleck Street, near the Hunts Point Terminal Market in the South Bronx.
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