Sign the petition: Stop the construction of the world's largest jail!
New York City is building the world’s largest jail in Chinatown. The nicknamed “Jailscraper” will be 490 ft tall and is being built near the Chung Pak low-income senior residence. The building will result in harmful environmental impacts on Chinatown's largely immigrant and working-class population, where more than a quarter of residents live in poverty.
The Jailscraper is one of four new jails being built to replace Rikers Island. Rikers has an extensive history of human rights abuses. In 2022 alone, 18 people died, and the facility faced intense scrutiny after images went viral depicting incarcerated people sitting in their own feces for hours at a time.
The new jail will do nothing to improve the condition that incarcerated people are currently facing in the city’s carceral system. Instead, the government should invest in harm reduction, violence prevention programs, community care, and crisis management.
Residents outside of NYC have a reason to be concerned as well. Jails are inherently anti-Black and promote violence against the LGBTQ+ community, women, immigrants, and low-income people. The fight to stop the building of new jails is a part of the fight to redefine what public safety can mean for vulnerable communities.
In the years following the 2020 global uprising for Black liberation, it is unconscionable that New York would use public funds to build the world's largest jail in the heart of one of the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods. It must be stopped.
Sign the petition: Stop the construction of the world's largest jail!
Participating Organizations
act.tv
Daily Kos
Fayetteville Police Accountability Community Taskforce
Free and Fair Democracy PAC
Progressive Reform Network
Solidarity Action
Vittoria Fariello
The Jailscraper is one of four new jails being built to replace Rikers Island. Rikers has an extensive history of human rights abuses. In 2022 alone, 18 people died, and the facility faced intense scrutiny after images went viral depicting incarcerated people sitting in their own feces for hours at a time.
The new jail will do nothing to improve the condition that incarcerated people are currently facing in the city’s carceral system. Instead, the government should invest in harm reduction, violence prevention programs, community care, and crisis management.
Residents outside of NYC have a reason to be concerned as well. Jails are inherently anti-Black and promote violence against the LGBTQ+ community, women, immigrants, and low-income people. The fight to stop the building of new jails is a part of the fight to redefine what public safety can mean for vulnerable communities.
In the years following the 2020 global uprising for Black liberation, it is unconscionable that New York would use public funds to build the world's largest jail in the heart of one of the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods. It must be stopped.
Sign the petition: Stop the construction of the world's largest jail!
Participating Organizations
act.tv
Daily Kos
Fayetteville Police Accountability Community Taskforce
Free and Fair Democracy PAC
Progressive Reform Network
Solidarity Action
Vittoria Fariello
