BBP Adams: Parole Office Should Be Downtown, Not in Gowanus

The new headquarters for state parole operations should be downtown, not in Gowanus, according to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. The proposed location at 15 2nd Avenue is too difficult for parolees to reach.

“When you’re on parole, cab fare can be the difference between violating and not violating,” he told The Brooklyn Paper. “We shouldn’t make it more challenging.”

Three other pols have also questioned the location of the new headquarters and the secrecy surrounding its selection. Another issue is the area’s protected industrial zoning, which doesn’t allow office space.

The state department lost its previous headquarters downtown several years ago to development and has been housed in three different downtown locations since then. The offices serve about 5,000 parolees, or 400 a day.

But it may already be too late. The state signed a contract over a year ago and construction is well under way. Above, the industrial building at 15 2nd Avenue in 2006. An addition is going up on the site now. Construction is supposed to finish in January, and the building is supposed to open in April.

Beep: Revoke Gowanus Parole Plan [BK Paper]
Photo by Kate Leonova for PropertyShark