A Brooklyn federal judge on Monday ordered that lawyers be allowed back in to visit their clients at the Metropolitan Detention Center — after inmates spent a week unable to have even legal visitation amid a power outage.
Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall granted the temporary restraining order as part of a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Federal Defenders of New York that alleges a “humanitarian crisis” at the federal complex in Sunset Park.
Male inmates in the jail’s West Building had been forced to endure ice-cold and pitch-black jail cells ever since a fire on Jan. 27 knocked out power and heating in the building, the suit says.
Lawyers and family members have also have been blocked from visiting since the small electrical blaze broke out — prompting the group of legal advocates to accuse the Federal Bureau of Prisons of violating inmates’ constitutional right to counsel.
“The MDC has been too quick to cancel legal visitation when issues arise,” Sean Hecker, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Federal Defenders, told The Post. “This is a totally obvious constitutional violation.”
Normally, lawyers are permitted to visit from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. But they were let into the MDC only for brief visits on Sunday — and then on Monday, a bomb hoax at around 10:30 a.m. forced an evacuation.
Both social and legal visitations resumed at 5 p.m. Monday.
Earlier in the day, an inmate’s mother was turned away after traveling from The Bronx to visit her son.
“They said no visits today until further notice,” Delores Brown, 50, said. “I thought the visits were going to be [resumed] today. I’m very disgusted. I want to see my son, see how he’s doing. Some of them [the inmates] are probably sick from the cold.”
The inmates also had no access to computers, televisions and telephones for a week before power and heat were fully restored at around 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
But in its lawsuit, the Federal Defenders say the feds’ response was “woefully inadequate” and has caused a “significant drain” on its resources as they attempted to see their indigent clients.
The group is calling for an independent monitor to review conditions at the MDC. The federal Department of Justice has vowed to hold its own investigation.
Meanwhile, for a third straight day, dozens of protesters gathered outside the lockup as officers armed with long guns guarded the entrance.
Reps for the MDC and DOJ declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Additional reporting by Tina Moore and Sarah Trefethen
