NYC seeks to grow Bronx youth detention center amid spike in juvenile crime

New York City plans to add 48 beds to a Bronx jail for young people with open criminal cases, with officials saying the project is needed because more children are being charged with serious crimes.

Six new eight-bed residential units are planned for the Horizons Juvenile Center on Brook Ave. near E. 149th St. in the South Bronx.

The number of new admissions to Horizons and Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn, which also houses accused juvenile criminals, spiked to 1,775 in the city’s 2023 fiscal year — a jump of 35% from 1,319 new admissions reported in fiscal 2022, according to the Administration for Children’s Services, which operates both facilities.

Not only are more children being admitted to the centers, they are staying longer. The average stay has grown from 150 days in 2021 to 191 days in 2023, said ACS spokeswoman Marisa Kaufman.

The idea of adding more beds to the Horizon center is drawing criticism from children’s advocates and members of the City Council.

Councilman Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn) said Thursday that Mayor Adams’ administration could better spend the money on programs to keep young people with open cases out of jail.

“The change in approach by the Adams administration to arrest and incarcerate much more aggressively is driving the increase in youth detention,” Restler said. “Meanwhile, they are slashing programs that keep kids in their homes. It’s mind-boggling.”

The two holding facilities are meant for defendants ages 16 and 17 — but they can be held there until they turn 21 as their cases move through the courts.

The average daily population at Horizon and Crossroads spiked from 143 in fiscal 2022 to 198 in fiscal 2023. The Administration for Children’s Services attributes the increases to longer stays in detention.

Currently, there are 91 people ages 18 to 20 in juvenile detention in the city for crimes that took place when they were 16 or 17.

ACS officials attributed the increasing length of detentions to more serious charges. They said 70% of the young people in the centers are awaiting court proceedings for murder or a “murder-related” charge.

Kate Rubin, director of policy for Youth Represent, noted the city was able to reduce the population of 16- and 17-year-olds on Rikers Island after the state Raise the Age law was passed in 2018.

The law bars people under the age of 18 from being charged as adults.

The city, she said, also reduced the population in juvenile holding facilities during the pandemic out of concern for detainees’ health and safety.

“Reducing the population can be done,” Rubin said. “The city is taking the more expensive path. Even if you can get 30% out, that would address their overcrowding issue.”

The project will also include eight new classrooms, including two arts/science classrooms and two trade skills classrooms, Kaufman said. The size of recreation area, the kitchen and the mess hall will be increased, and there will be new space for medical and mental health services.

Kaufman said the money for the project, which she said would cost around $340 million, comes from capital funds allocated to ACS.

The spending amounts to a second round of expenditures following roughly $134 million spent beginning in 2018 to upgrade security in Horizons and Crossroads to comply with Raise the Age law requirements, ACS said.

“They are clearly putting aside significant new additional resources at a time when we’re facing a budget crisis to be able to jail more kids,” Restler said.

The project doesn’t require approval from the City Council, but ACS officials said they have discussed it with some Council members. The state Commission of Correction and Office of Children and Family Services have to approve the project.

“Providing services and supports to youth and their families in the community is critical for youth to achieve their fullest potential,” Kaufman said. “At the same time, ACS must also provide a safe and supportive environment to any youth ordered to be detained by the court.”