They’d rather just keep Laverne Cox.

Kew Gardens’ Queens Detention Center will be reopened as a jail for the first time since 2002 to help with the closure of Rikers Island — but it hasn’t been sitting empty for 16 years.

The site has been used as a set for the Netflix women’s prison comedy “Orange is the New Black” — and locals say they prefer fake inmates to the real ones.

“This used to be such a safe area, we don’t need any more criminals. I’ll stick to the ‘Orange is the New Black’ ones,” said local Michaelle Rouzier, 46.

“This isn’t the place for a jail. And is it really going to ease all the corruption and violence coming from Rikers? I doubt it.”