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“Let’s make it something that we never would have dreamed about.” – Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn borough president.
“Food would be a very important component there… Coffee would be critical. From there, you might go to something jeans-oriented, or footwear.” – Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a retail consulting and investment banking firm. (Both quoted in Brooklyn House of Detention Seen as a Jail With Retail, by Paul von Zielbauer, The New York Times, March 10, 2006)
“There’s a tremendous amount of potential to sell what I call the nifty-gifties… You have a captive audience, even with the visitors… Think of it as more of an upscale airport gift shop.” – Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for the NPD Group [emphasis added] (Quoted in Prisoners Up Above, ‘Nifty-Gifties’ Down Below, by Paul von Zielbauer, The New York Times, March 12, 2006)
“It’s been the devout wish of the neighborhood to get this thing closed and gone, because it does not do a thing for the neighborhood.”- Heloise Gruneberg, president of Brooklyn Vision. (Quoted in Jailhouse Blues? On the Contrary, by Jake Mooney, The New York Times, March 12, 2006)
With all due respect, as a former resident of Boerum Hill, I think I have a solution. There’s an easy way to reopen the jail, enhance the neighborhood, and bring in new revenue.
Check out the excellent drawing I did with some friends over beers Saturday night at Boat.