Let's not delve into the issue of closing rikers, that's another issue for another thread.
As for the new prison and NIMBYs, there are two things in the city that rile people up more than skyscrapers - prisons and homeless shelters. This location is close to the courts, and anywhere else you try to move it, the people aren't going to welcome it with open arms. I'm pretty sure the NIMBYs there would be up in arms over a regular 40-story building, but this one had the added bonus of a prison.
Left: 80 Centre Street, seen from the corner of Worth and Baxter Streets. Right: The north tower of the Manhattan Detention Center. Once decommissioned, the city says it will be available for an as community use, yet to be determined.
Map by the city shows 80 Centre Street (outlined in red) and the area that will studied (the dotted line) in an analysis of the environmental impact of the jail. A public meeting on the draft scope of that study will be held on Sept. 27.