WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Residents in the Mount Vernon Triangle are pushing back on the city's plan to temporarily move the Department of Corrections (DOC) central cell block to their neighborhood as the District advances renovations at police headquarters.
The Department of General Services (DGS) filed a special exception zoning application on behalf of the Department of Corrections to allow the District to temporarily operate the central cell block out of 501 New York Ave. NW.
The building is currently vacant but according to DC officials the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has used this building for the past 50 years. They also added that as recent as 2017, the facilities have been used to hold arrestees.
The central cell block is located at the Henry Daly Building that houses the police headquarters at 300 Indiana Ave. NW. City officials said the temporary move is necessary to advance on much needed repairs to the Daly building.
The central cell block holds those arrested between 12 to 24 hours before their initial court appearance. The facilities are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
During a Wednesday afternoon hearing, the DC Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) heard from neighbors who voiced a wide-range of concerns including, noise, traffic, and public safety. Some including Lodriguez Murray testified that the city was trying to advance the project without taking into consideration the opinion of those who would be most impacted.
"I am concerned about the noise, I am concerned about the carrying on, I am concerned about traffic, I am concerned quite frankly about police harassment in the neighborhood. I am concerned about the police and department of corrections lack of willingness to talk to the community about this project," Murray told the BZA commissioners.
City officials pushed back on the notion that the facility is a jail. They also addressed some of the resident worries including concerns that detainees would be released in their neighborhood at all hours. Allam Al-Alami with DGS said the city was willing to adopt the pandemic protocol to only release arrestees at the DC courthouse.
DGS says that out of available inventory, this location meets zoning, public safety, and geographic criteria. The proposed location is also the closest in proximity to the DC courthouse.
501 New York Ave. NW has a sally port and currently has 19 holding cells and with a capacity to detain 38 people. The city's plan seeks to increase the number of cells to 46 by adding more to the basement. The proposal does not make structural changes to the outside of the building. Despite the increase in holding capacity, DOC says they estimate 45 people would be held at the center daily.
"None of the individuals testifying on behalf of the city today addressed how the remedy of what will be an inevitable decline in property values or how they will mitigate the perception that a central cell block in our neighborhood will create," Kyle Everrett who opposes the plan told the BZA.
Based on the presentation provided by DGS, the building would be used for a couple of months. They plan construction on the building to start in 2028 and conclude in 2030. Under the plan the central cell block would be in use by late 2030 and vacated by early 2031.
The temporary use of the facility was questioned by many homeowners including ANC Commissioner Rachelle Nigro who is leading the 'No Jail at 501 New York Ave NW' Campaign. Through video submissions, Nigro pointed out the impact of the plan in the neighborhood. "The establishment of a 24/7 correctional facility would significantly worsen already perilous driving situation on that block. Historical data, data, would from January 2019 to date reveals a disturbing trend of accidents, 22 collisions at the intersection of 6th and New York Avenue alone, resulted in 33 injuries and one fatality," she testified.
DC officials testified that police officers would not need to use sirens or lights near the facility because the center would not be used for emergency services.