As of Friday April 21 the demolition is now on pause and a meeting with elected officials and community representatives is to be scheduled. — JS Miller on Demolition to start on White Street jails

Outdoor seating under the flowers has a wood floor that my friend in a Walker could not navigate - there is a tilted cumbersome wooden slanted step that is inaccessible to disabled people with mobility issues. When We mentioned this to manager and asked if f they would consider making the platform accessible for the disabled - he seemed annoyed and abruptly replied - with annoyance - No we will not make it accessible and next time your friend could go in the shed area which has a flat entrance . That rude- dismissive response shows a lack of concern for accessibility for the disabled. — Kindred Spirit on Chanson Le Salon will soon be Le Salon, a cocktail bar

This is a start. Why no similar discussion of the adaptive reuse or renovation of Rikers itself, instead of abandonment of Rikers? These neighborhood facilities, whether the proposed new buildings, or adaptive reuse of the existing buildings, cannot even hold the current inmate population, which is around double the planned capacity of the new system. This disparity will get even worse once there is another crime surge, or interest in enforcing the laws by increasing arrests. Where will all the inmates be housed? — Marcus on Demolition of jails is paused for two weeks

Very sad. Hopefully the investigation will go far enough to reveal who are accountable to prevent this from happening again in the future. — R. on Longtime manager of garage is killed in building collapse

@Will, thank you! — R. on Demolition to start on White Street jails

Thanks to TC for reporting on this. The jail project does impact people in Chinatown greatly - to argue niimby is not fair unless you are the one who is actually having this construction disrupting your lives - the noise, the pollution and the disruption to business. Why shouldn't Chinatown be allowed to ensure that the project is done with care to ensure it has minimal impact on the above? that is what the advocates of this effort are trying to accomplish which i think is admirable. — scared on Demolition to start on White Street jails

@K. Very strange analogy. The closing of St. Vincent’s is a shameful and tragic event for many whose lives had been irrevocably damaged for years after. Another example of how real estate interest helps transform this city into less and less humane and livable. — R. on Demolition to start on White Street jails

@Th. There we go again, NIMBY. If the jail was proposed in the middle of Franklin and Church, hysterical probably wouldn’t be your choice of adjective. ( God forbid, the expensive people of Tribeca!). This whole scheme is not only poorly conceived and consists of layers of dated racism, classism, collusion( real estate, construction + city, what else?), the displacement of businesses and residents near by was never part of the conversation, because there was none. ( or shall we say NIMBYs). The noises and pollution in the coming months/years will be unimaginable, but of course it affects only those blocks away from beautiful Tribeca, you know, east of Broadway. So big real estate is winning on both ends, transforming Rikers Into the new Long Island City + Green Point while dumping the jail in Chinatown! Except in 2023, even in Chinatown, gentrification is moving in, slowly but surely. So in ten years the new condo owners in branded Chinatown probably wouldn’t appreciate the monstrosity of a jail in their midst. — R. on Demolition to start on White Street jails

Please, your excessive use of the word NIMBY is truly uncalled for and offensive. If you have any opinion please articulate. — R. on Demolition to start on White Street jails

To me, I find it unfathomable that this project is really the best way to spend $9 billion (and we all know the final cost will likely be double that). This just reeks of special interests and more bloated government nonsense. After the reports about how 75% of the ridiculous budget for the Second Avenue went to "consulting fees" as opposed to the actual construction costs, this plan of tearing down towers just to rebuild very similar ones in the same spot needs to be looked at much more carefully. In fact, it's perfectly justified to view every major infrastructure project approved under the DeBlasio administration that way given the past corruption that's already come to light. And yes, as others have said, I really would love to hear why the White Street jail can't be renovated to be just as functional as this proposal without the years of neighborhood disruption, environmental damage, and inevitable graft that will surely be taking place. — James S on Demolition to start on White Street jails

Excellent point. — KC on Demolition to start on White Street jails

This bar is excellent. Stopped by for a drink and bite this weekend with the family. Support this local business! — JR on A labor of love, Tribeca style

If St. Vincent's hospital could be gut renovated and offered as high end living spaces certainly this jail space can be gut renovated and made acceptable. This sounds like another win for developers and those who make money enabling them. — K on Demolition to start on White Street jails

Thank you for sharing the rich backstory to this rather intriguing space — Bill VP on A labor of love, Tribeca style

Tribeca Citizen, has Warren Peace closed? I haven’t noticed it open recently despite the gorgeous weather. — Katie on New Kid on the Block: Warren Peace

Love this! — N and C on Where in Tribeca?

I love Ole & Steen. The breads are great, the cinnamon swirls are delicious and the sandwiches are good. I do share your pet peeve about paper coffee cups. As mostly an espresso drinker I find it ruins the experience drinking from a to go cup. — Cd on New Kid on the Block: Ole & Steen opens today

Staple Street Alley! — G & Co. on Where in Tribeca?

Some objections: - Is this cost-effective? (vs. cost of modernizing Rikers and renovating rather than demolishing the Chinatown jail) - environmental effects of the demolitions and construction - community disruptions of the demolition and construction - safety concerns - traffic and congestion concerns both during demo/construction, and once the neighborhood facility is operational - If the goal is a more "humane" system, what is the evidence that this will solve the problem? If there is an abusive and inhumane system, the move will simply relocate that system. - see, for example: "Spending $9 Billion on New Architecture Will Not Solve the Rikers Problem" https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/10/usd9-billion-for-new-jails-will-not-solve-the-rikers-problem.html - Not enough space. The new plan does not allow enough space even to house the existing number of inmates. What happens if we get officials who actually want to be tough on crime, and arrests increase as a result? Even with soft-on-crime officials, what happens when the next crime wave hits? So again, the point is that one can consistently believe in modernization and reform of the culture and facilities of the system, yet question and criticize whether this current plan is the way forward, or just a massive, time-consuming and expensive, shuffling of the board, with no real improvement in any desired outcome: more humane and safe system, reduction in crime and recidivism, increase in public safety, etc. Can those goals be achieved more effectively, less expensively, less disruptively, while addressing the concerns above (and any others I may have left out)? — Marcus on Demolition to start on White Street jails

According to another Century employee, the new reopening date is May 1st, which is one week away! 🙏 — David on Century 21 will reopen in April

Attacking people, in this aggressive manner, who care about their communities as "NIMBYs" is cheap points scoring. Nothing else. It's meaningless. Yes I read the Tribeca Citizen because I care about the community I live in. Yes I don't think knocking down an existing prison to build new buildings, that look remarkably similar to the ones being knocked down, is good use of tax payers money or good for the environment or good for healthy living or good for the prison service. Jamming prisonerss into inner city communities does not seem, to me, to make sense, either - never has. This does not make me a "NIMBY". There seems to be some lets shove it to the Tribeca citizens in these NIMBY notes. "They are a bunch of selfish "NIMBYs lets stick to them". Not true. Caring about where you live is not a bad thing. Taking a practical, common sense and non politically motivated view is not either. This development does not make sense to most people living here and to many who don't. Thank you TC for covering this. — Will on Demolition to start on White Street jails

The question is why they have to be demolished, instead of modernizing the interior facilities. — Marcus on Demolition to start on White Street jails

I am all for modernizing the facilities in both locations. I don't see the sense of closing Rikers and the massively expensive and disruptive demolition and construction in the neighborhoods. Surely there are more cost-effective and less disruptive solutions that achieve the same goal of clean, updated, modern facilities. The issue is this: Why not renovate and modernize Rikers instead? And for the existing Chinatown buildings, why not adaptively reuse and modernize interior, instead of complete demolition and rebuild? This is what Councilman Marte is pushing for. — Marcus on Demolition to start on White Street jails

The advocates argue yes. The city has not said why they have to be demolished. — Tribeca Citizen on Demolition to start on White Street jails

Was the Tombs and the other two historically worth saving? — John N. Vasilakos on Demolition to start on White Street jails