A city proposal to house former Rikers Island inmates on the Jacobi Hospital campus in Morris Park has enraged residents of the Bronx neighborhood.
“I’m livid about the fact that the Bronx is inundated with group homes, homeless shelters. There should be some kind of equity. You’re putting a criminal element in a peaceful community,” said Al D’Angelo, the head of the Morris Park Community Association.
Hundreds of residents packed a meeting Tuesday to hear about the plan, with many denouncing it.
The city says it wants to create 70 studio apartments in an unused Jacobi building on Seminole Avenue for the former inmates, who will have “complex medical needs” such as cancer or kidney disease. Some units would go to low-income New Yorkers through a lottery.
D’Angelo said he worried about who might be visiting the former inmates.
“Why put our families in harm’s way,” he said.
Many residents oppose the idea of letting former criminals reside in the building. J.C.RiceThe non-profit Fortune Society was selected as the developer, but the project still needs to get City Council approval.
“I always strive for community-led processes and to bring all relevant stakeholders to the table; this project is no exception, and I hope we are able to find a use for the building that works for the community, patients, and the hospital,” said Councilwoman Marjorie Velazquez, who represents the area.
A spokesman for the public Health + Hospitals system, which runs Jacobi, said, “We are excited to help provide some of our most medically fragile patients the opportunity to receive dignified housing and high quality services.”
