Manhattan jail closure renews concerns over Brooklyn facility conditions

“I can’t imagine, judge, that it’s new information to the [Bureau of Prisons], which is a party to this litigation,” Dabbs said, calling it “disappointing” that the news was revealed through the press to some parties in the mediation. (Judge Brodie said she learned about the closure by phone. “Not that I’m defending this in any way,” she clarified.)

The transfer will pose issues for staffing, and call into question the adequacy of phone and video conferencing equipment in Brooklyn, which have already been complicated systems to roll out and maintain. 

“A lot of us have seen clients gradually transferred out of MCC in recent weeks,” Dabbs said, “though I don't think anyone had an appreciation for the news that came out yesterday.” 

Deirdre von Dornum, attorney-in-charge of the Federal Defenders for the Eastern District of New York, noted that transferring some 200 detainees by early October would be an issue. 

“My primary concern is the timeline as I understand it,” von Dornum said during the conference. 

She expressed concern that the Brooklyn center will be able to provide adequate computers for discovery — currently, “most don’t work” — as well as law library access and facilities for detainees who are under special housing conditions.

Further complicating the issue is the surging delta variant of the coronavirus: Detainees in Brooklyn are now confined to their cells except for one hour per day. 

“If we have 200 people in five weeks, given that we were already not in a great place, that would be really, really concerning,” von Dornum said. 

Brodie said the issues raised “are all valid and necessary to any transfer, and we have to figure that out before these inmates can be transferred. We can’t wait until they’re at the MDC to scramble and figure out how to provide those services.” 

“With all of us working collectively, I have no doubt that we can figure out a way to make sure the concerns are all addressed before this transfer actually happens, even though we have very limited time,” the judge said. “These are things that just have to be done.” 

Civil rights attorney Andrew Laufer said the conditions in Brooklyn are unlikely to provide any relief to those being transferred from Manhattan.  

“It’s nearly as bad, if not just as bad, as MCC,” Laufer said in a phone interview.  “I don’t really know what favors they’re doing to detainees by bringing them there.” 

If Epstein’s death brought to light the conditions at the Manhattan jail, it was too late for many who died before him, said Laufer. Issues have surrounded the facility “since its inception” in the mid-1970s, he said. 

He represents the family of Roberto Grant, who died in the MCC in 2015, in a federal lawsuit against the jail. An autopsy initially listed Grant’s cause of death as “undetermined,” but medical experts have called it a homicide, according to reports from Gothamist. 

“I wish this much attention was paid when he was murdered,” Laufer said of Grant, but he “didn’t have all this clout and influence with these power brokers in our society, so obviously no one really cared too much about his death.” 

Laufer said the MCC is not only short-staffed, but does not follow its own basic guidelines for patrolling the area. The facility’s closure was a surprise, he said: “BOP is very opaque. You never know what’s going on there. It’s almost like there’s no oversight.” 

The lack of transparency is despite “thousands of complaints” regarding prison conditions, he said. 

“If you were in a rental apartment, you’d get free rent for your life if you had to live within these types of conditions,” Laufer said. “You don't give up your basic human rights when you’re serving time. Clearly those rights were repeatedly violated.” 

Attorney Amy Marion represents three individuals who were detained in Brooklyn when the power went out, and recently sued in the United States over the “near freezing” conditions. 

With no lights, the men were “locked in their cells all day and all night, with the sole exception of a minimal break to take a cold shower, if they chose to subject themselves to this,” according to the 11-page complaint. 

Building maintenance has been the Bureau of Prisons’ explanation of the conditions — but really, they speak to a larger issue, said Marion, of the Lake Success-based firm Abrams, Fensterman. 

“It’s systematic of a broader issue of not properly maintaining your facility,” Marion said. She recalled visiting a client in the facility during the summer, when the air conditioning was improperly regulated, making it “freezing.”  

“You needed a winter jacket,” she said. “These guys are walking around in short-sleeved jumpsuits.” 

Marion said there may be more physical space in Brooklyn compared to the shuttering Manhattan facility. But she doubted detainees would get any real relief from the transfer. 

“I don’t think it’s going to be any better,” she said. “It’s a larger space, there is more physical room there, but I don’t know that that makes any difference in terms of the inmate population or anything else.” 

Follow Nina Pullano on Twitter

Follow @NinaPullano

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit