Today, a judge hears a case to block the newly reopened Brooklyn House of Detention on Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill, which the Bloomberg administration actually wants to spend $440 million on to double it in size. It’s better for inmates’ families than having to schlep all the way out to Rikers, the Bloomberg administration feels, but folks in the ever-more gentrified area allege that the city reopened the eleven-story facility without the necessary city and state approvals. Not that everyone in the hood is against the jail, though: “It’s good for business,” said one restaurant owner, “because the officers come in for lunch.” [Brooklyn Paper, Gowanus Lounge]
