The Adams administration unloaded on a Brooklyn lawmaker who championed the closure of Rikers Island then complained about the construction of a new borough-based jail in his own district.
City Councilman Lincoln Restler called construction of a 15-story jail complex in Boerum Hill “a serious problem,” particularly during overnight hours — prompting City Hall to take a shot at him as a “hypocrite.”
“While I have long supported the plan to close Rikers Island (where four detainees have tragically died in custody so far this year), I have strongly opposed the City’s mishandling of the construction of the new jail in our community,” Restler wrote. “The demolition of the old jail was badly mismanaged and I was hopeful that the new construction firm would work more collaboratively to mitigate impacts.”
Restler complained that Adams and his team have approved “extreme after-hour-variances and overridden all of our objections to reduce late night work thus far.”…