LIAR-KILLER, 2021. Acrylic on fine arts photo paper. 13 x 19.”
Since 2021, demolition has been underway on the site of the Manhattan Detention Complex to clear space for a planned structure that community activists are referring to as “the megajail.” With a proposed layout that will handily triple the cubic footage of the existing prison, construction of the megajail will disrupt adjacent residences and small businesses while dominating the northern skyline of Chinatown’s historic Columbus Park. Poised to violate the physical and psychological confines of a community that is already hurting, the Chinatown megajail is a perfect case study for the deep divisions that carceral, ableist, and antiblack policies create.
Since 2021, demolition has been underway on the site of the Manhattan Detention Complex to clear space for a planned structure that community activists are referring to as “the megajail.” With a proposed layout that will handily triple the cubic footage of the existing prison, construction of the megajail will disrupt adjacent residences and small businesses while dominating the northern skyline of Chinatown’s historic Columbus Park. Poised to violate the physical and psychological confines of a community that is already hurting, the Chinatown megajail is a perfect case study for the deep divisions that carceral, ableist, and antiblack policies create.
