Chinatown leaders are urging Mayor Zohran Mamdani to reconsider building a hi-rise jail in the densely populated neighborhood — saying the move could cause the ground to sink and endanger other buildings.
The proposed 16-story local “jailscraper” is part of a $16 billion plan to replace the Rikers Island Jail Complex with four borough-based facilities close to courthouses, a project that could be completed by 2032.
“The jail site sits on the soft, waterlogged ground of the old Collect Pond,” according to an Aug. 21 letter sent by 18 local leaders to the mayor, Deputy Mayor Julia Kerson, “Close Rikers’ Czar Dana Kaplan and City Council Speaker Julie Menin.
“The construction plan calls for the deepest excavation ever attempted on its site, digging well below the water table. The city’s report warns that pumping out that water during construction can cause the surrounding ground to sink, and once it sinks, it does not come back,” the letter said.
The planned demolition of the Manhattan Detention Complex at 124–125 White St. — and proposed towering jail reconstruction there — is also fiercely opposed by local residents, businesses and community organizations.
The phase-out of Rikers for new jails was initiated by former Mayor Bill de Blasio nearly a decade ago and progressed slowly under his successor, ex-Mayor Eric Adams. It’s now Mamdani’s turn.
The Chinatown leaders’ letter stated that many older buildings surrounding the construction site also rest on century-old wooden foundations, which are sturdy only because they stay underwater.
Exposing submerged wood to air would accelerate its deterioration, the leaders claimed, citing an op-ed analysis from architect William Bialosky.
“The buildings in the danger zone are our homes, our small businesses, the historic buildings along Baxter Street, and Chung Pak senior housing, where some of our most vulnerable neighbors live,” the Chinatown reps said.
But city officials last month said they are taking all necessary precautions for “building safely below the [water] table.”
A July 20 report addressing the issue was released by the city Department of Design and Construction, the city’s major contractor Tutor Perini and the Corrections Department, among others.
The report states that a continuous underground retaining wall formed by overlapping concrete piles will provide adequate excavation support, limit ground movement and help control groundwater during deep digging.
The construction officials acknowledged that managing groundwater is critical to maintaining stability and “protecting surrounding structures.”
But the pile walls minimize ground movement and help protect buildings adjacent to the jail site, as well as utilities and public infrastructure, the builders said.
“Only water within the excavation area is managed, minimizing impacts to the surrounding groundwater level,” the report said.
“By containing groundwater and excavation effects within the site, the sealed-wall method reduces risks to surrounding properties and infrastructure.”
The Gateway Tunnel Project and other sites using such Secant piles include 100 11th Ave. in Chelsea in Manhattan, the Hudson Square Project, or Project Galaxy, for the Walt Disney Company in Manhattan, and 120 Fifth Ave. in Brooklyn.
Throughout the ongoing demolition and dismantlement phase at the Chinatown site, residents have reported persistent dust emissions, uncovered and idling trucks and ongoing noise disruptions.
The Chinatown Environmental Health Working Group reports higher particulate matter pollution levels near the construction zone.
Signatories of the letter to the mayor include: Vic Lee, CEO and co-founder of Welcome to Chinatown Inc.; Vic Lee, CEO & co-founder Welcome to Chinatown Inc.; Jan Lee, co-founder of Neighbors United Below Canal; Thomas Yu, executive director of Asian Americans for Equality, and Wayne Ho, president and CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc.
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