Well this NPR audio piece certainly
makes for an interesting story. Apparently an old 800-bed jail in Brooklyn, NY could soon house upscale shops and
restaurants, if the Brooklyn correction commissioner and mayor proposing such idea gets their way. The Brooklyn House of Detention sits
on the corner of Atlantic and Boerum Place and while some have found stranger things and neighbors in the state of NY
many activists in the area find the notion stupid. Could this be a bad-fit for the borough in terms of architecture?
Further digging into the topic lead me to this Gothamist blurb which notes execs at a few
major chains unwilling to associate their brands with an old slammer. It doesn’t sound like that horrible of an idea. I
mean, there could be worse places to put pricey boutique shops or restaurants like an old funeral home for instance.
That would probably spook me more than some jail, but that’s just me.