The sound of inmates banging on the windows of their freezing cells to protest the lack of heat, captured by reporters in America’s biggest media market, helped draw national attention to conditions at a federal jail in Brooklyn this week. But defense lawyers, prisoner advocates and union officials say the crisis should serve as a warning that shoddy maintenance and substandard conditions plague not just the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, but many of the 122 lockups across the country run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. “This is chronic,” said Eric Young, president of the American Federation of Government Employees' Council of Prison Locals, which represents federal prison workers. "Many of those facilities are in disrepair. This requires a great deal of attention and often goes neglected.” At the high-rise Houston Federal Detention Center, for example, malfunctioning elevators bring operations in the seven-story building to a halt at least once a month and force staff to put inmates on lockdown, said Reynaldo Osorio, a correctional counselor and president of the local union chapter. Balky air conditioning systems often leave the jail hot and humid during the summer, he said. Jail administrators have asked their regional office for money for long-term repairs to the 30-year-old building, but there is not enough in the Bureau of Prisons budget to accommodate them, with facilities with more pressing needs being a higher priority, Osorio said. "Other institutions are older. And we’re only one of 100 something institutions throughout the bureau." The Houston Federal Detention Center's spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The bureau's federal jail in Manhattan, the Metropolitan Correctional Center New York, also has a history of complaints about conditions, including vermin infestation and inoperable toilets, according to the New York news website Gothamist. And at a federal prison in Mendota, California, the head of the local union has gone public with complaints of mold sickening workers and a malfunctioning air conditioning system. Representatives of the Manhattan jail and Mendota prison did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “These are pretty serious situations that, when ignored, you get the MDC Brooklyn,” Young said. The Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, which predominantly houses people accused of crimes who are unable to post bail and have not yet gone to trial, suffered a small electrical fire Jan. 27 in a second-floor control room, according to the New York Fire Department. The Bureau of Prisons said the fire caused power outages in one of its buildings that houses male inmates. A new electrical panel was installed nearly a week later, on Feb. 2. In the interim, New York suffered a cold snap in which temperatures dropped as low as 3 degrees. The bureau said in a statement that heating was not affected by the outage. But defense lawyers and union officials ─ as first detailed in The New York Times ─ reported dark, frigid conditions in some parts of the jail that forced curbs on visits and phone calls. Inmates’ relatives began protesting outside the jail. Inmates responded by banging on the inside of their windows, the clangs and thuds reverberating in the street below. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and numerous other elected officials expressed outrage at the conditions in the jail. Protesters attend a rally at Metropolitan Detention Center demanding that heat is restored for the inmates in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Feb. 2, 2019. Go Nakamura / Reuters The Bureau of Prisons said Sunday night that power had been restored and the jail would try to resume normal operations. "The BOP is conducting a complete and thorough review of the situation in coordination with the Department of Justice," the agency said in a statement. A representative of the Metropolitan Detention Center did not respond to a request for comment. The Federal Defenders of New York, a nonprofit that represents people who can't afford a lawyer, filed a lawsuit Monday alleging a “humanitarian crisis” in the jail and accusing the bureau of making “misleading” statements about it. A judge ordered the jail to start allowing attorney visits. Young traveled to Brooklyn on Monday to tour the detention center. He said officials told him it would be a year before the fire-damaged electrical panel would be fully rebuilt. The conditions at the Brooklyn jail, as reported by defense lawyers and union officials, opened a window on problems in American jails and prisons that are often kept out of the public eye, inmate advocates said. “This could be happening more frequently and we’re just not hearing about it,” said David Fathi, head of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Prison Project, which raises issues of substandard care in prisons and jails. “This happened in the nation’s largest urban area with lots of lawyers going in and out, and had the visibility others don’t.” With no agency that investigates and reports on conditions in federal prisons and jails, the bureau “operates in the shadows with very little public oversight,” Fathi said. He also blamed the Prison Litigation Reform Act, passed in 1996, which curtailed inmates' ability to sue prisons. At the same time, Bureau of Prisons facilities have suffered from a lack of funding for upkeep and repair, union officials say. The bureau warned in its 2019 budget request to Congress that 43 percent of its buildings were more than three decades old, but over the last 10 years it had received less than half of what it needed to maintain them. As a result, the bureau said it devotes its "modernization and repair" budget to only its highest priority projects. The bureau asked for $99 million for modernization and repair, a bit less than its 2018 request but more than it has received in any year since 2009. "Failure to maintain the BOP’s structures and utility systems inhibits BOP’s ability to maintain safe and humane institutions," the budget request said. Prisoners at the Metropolitan Detention Center respond to family members and protesters who turned out to call attention to the conditions at the center on Feb. 3, 2019, in Brooklyn, New York. Kathy Willens / AP<doc-sep>[What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] The heat at a troubled Brooklyn jail started to fail as early as mid-January, weeks before the problem erupted into a public crisis, staff members and current and former inmates testified on Tuesday at a hearing on the deteriorating conditions. The hearing, before Judge Analisa Torres of Federal District Court in Manhattan, followed complaints that inmates at the jail, the Metropolitan Detention Center, were being housed in intolerable conditions. They were forced to huddle under blankets in frigid cells, lawyers said, after an electrical fire on Jan. 27 plunged much of the building into darkness. It led the jail to cancel lawyer and family visits for a week. The heating problems were unrelated to the electrical issues but worsened just as the city experienced temperatures that were among the coldest of the winter.<doc-sep>After days of protest and growing outrage, inmates housed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, have had power restored. The federal jail confirmed the news in a statement late Sunday night, with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeting that "a federal official confirmed to me the power is back on at MDC. Make no mistake: this took people power. Thank you to the families, activists and officials who fought for the dignity of people inside," de Blasio wrote. A federal official confirmed to me the power is back on at MDC. Make no mistake: this took people power. Thank you to the families, activists and officials who fought for the dignity of people inside. More work ahead—let’s keep at it. — Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) February 4, 2019 While the jail's statement said that staff was working "to restore the facility to normal operations," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the jail and the circumstances that led to the power outage. "Disturbing reports have surfaced that the federal government left more than a thousand prisoners without heat, hot water or electricity during subzero temperatures at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn," Cuomo said in a statement. "Prisoners in New York are human beings. Let's treat them that way." The trouble began on January 27, when an electrical panel caught fire at the jail, cutting off power to part of the detention center. According to facility workers, the jail then shifted to emergency power rather than generator power, as the generator switch had melted in the fire. According to union leaders, the heating issues were unrelated to the power outage, but occurred when the boilers that draw heat upward in the building froze amid the polar vortex that gripped much of the northern United States and plunged New York into single-digit temperatures, The New York Times reported. A spokesperson for MDC's warden, identified only as V. Logan, denied inmate allegations that they lacked hot water, adequate heat and hot meals. "All housing units have functional lighting. Heat and hot water has not been impacted. Likewise, inmate meals are not impacted; inmates are receiving regularly scheduled hot meals each day," Logan said in an email to The Times. On Saturday night, de Blasio instructed New York City Emergency Management to deliver blankets, hand warmers and generators "whether they like it or not," The Washington Post reported. New York City is sending trucks with hundreds of blankets and hand warmers to the Metropolitan Detention Center NOW and generators are being readied for transport. We've told the Federal Bureau of Prisons the supplies are coming – whether they like it or not. — Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) February 3, 2019 . @nycemergencymgt just delivered generators, blankets and hand warmers to the Metropolitan Detention Center. The people inside have a right to dignity and safety and we won’t stand by while the Federal Bureau of Prisons fails them. NYC stands ready to do all we can to help. pic.twitter.com/5HGA3Co0G4 — Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) February 3, 2019 MDC houses more than 1,600 detainees, many of whom spent the days without power pounding on the bars and covering windows to convey a message to protesters gathered outside. Some of the protesters remained overnight, shivering in the cold in solidarity with the inmates. Others returned in the day, holding signs of support or shouting messages in the hope that a loved one or a friend inside might hear them. Witnessed a mother just reunited with her son through the wall ... and thesexfamily members connecting with megaphones.... this is real trauma fam.... 💔💔💔#OccupyForHumanity #UntilThereIsHeat pic.twitter.com/85xDHyUVBi — Justice League NYC (@NYjusticeleague) February 3, 2019 While the power has been restored, local Democratic representatives who toured the jail on Saturday continued to criticize the conditions inside, including Representative Nydia Velázquez, who tweeted: "We were able today to enter cells to feel air and water temperatures and speak with detainees. One guard reported needing to wear fleece over a down vest to stay warm in overnight hours. Will continue to push for action." On Sunday, Representative Jerrold Nadler visited the prison again and tweeted that conditions had improved. "Conditions are much better. It's much warmer," Nadler said. "And the electrical power will be back tomorrow morning. We will remain vigilant to insure that the health and safety of the inmates and correction officers are taken care of properly."<doc-sep>The protesters have included relatives of inmates who said they haven’t been able to visit their kin inside for days, as well as activists and elected officials. They’ve chanted “Move them out!” and demanded answers from jail officials accused of “radio silence.” Some have remained at the site overnight, shivering and indignant, in solidarity with inmates.<doc-sep>
Outrage among advocates and New York officials was growing on Saturday after reports that a Brooklyn federal jail had limited heat and power during a week when temperatures in the city dropped as low as 3 degrees Fahrenheit. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted Saturday night that the city was sending trucks with "hundreds of blankets and hand warmers" to the jail, and generators were being readied for transport. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, tweeted "This has to end. Now." Protesters attend a rally at Metropolitan Detention Center demanding that heat is restored for the inmates in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Feb. 2, 2019. Go Nakamura / Reuters On Friday, The New York Times reported that Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood had limited power and heat for the more than 1,600 inmates housed there. The power issues began around Jan. 5, but the heating issues started last week, the Times reported. The Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a statement Saturday evening that the jail experienced a partial power outage "due to a fire in the switch gear room" and that the west building had limited power but the east building was unaffected. It said a new electrical panel was installed Saturday by an outside contractor. "The facility is working to restore power as expeditiously as possible," the agency said in a statement, adding that the work is expected to be completed by Monday. "Inmates have hot water for showers and hot water in the sinks in the cell," the statement read. "Essential personal hygiene items and medical services continue to be provided. New York City Emergency Services is providing blankets to MDC Brooklyn, and inmates will receive additional blankets and clothing today." I am outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center where prisoners are without heat. The banging noise is them protesting for all of us to hear. They are without heat for days. This is in BROOKLYN. pic.twitter.com/h3UiVcR6VF — Shahana Hanif (@HShahana) February 1, 2019 Earlier Saturday, the prisons bureau said "Con Edison has been dealing with numerous power emergencies in the community" and that "MDC Brooklyn is working with Con Edison to resolve the issue as soon as possible." However, Con Edison said they were not having power issues on their end and any electrical issues at the jail were internal and the jail's responsibility to fix. The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) is shown Jan. 8, 2017, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Kathy Willens / AP file In response to reports of extremely cold conditions, Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, called on the jail to move inmates to a location where their needs would be met and to fix the issues inside the facility immediately. "It is shocking that the government would hold people for days on end in a dark, freezing jail during one of the coldest weeks in memory," Lieberman said in a statement. "People incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, not forced to struggle to survive in dangerously freezing temperatures." Now, outside MDC Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/zvXISDHomg — Gideon Orion Oliver (@gideonoliver) February 2, 2019 On Friday, New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson tweeted that he and fellow politicians New York Rep. Nydia Velázquez, Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon, Councilmen Brad Lander, Carlos Menchaca, Justin Brannan — all of whom represent parts of Brooklyn — were at the jail to see the situation for themselves, according to a tweet from Johnson. On Saturday, Lander tweeted that he and other politicians would be protesting with other demonstrators outside the jail. "#SunsetParkGulag must end today," he wrote. Inmate telephones and computers and televisions had no power, but inmates’ public defender phones and staff phones were working, the prisons bureau said. All areas of the jail have lights, it said. As reports of the heat and power issues began to circulate, local activists, politicians and officials shared their indignation on Twitter. New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand retweeted a video taken outside the jail, in which it seemed that inmates could be heard banging on the walls on the facility in protest. "This is inhumane and a violation of the detainees’ constitutional rights. The Bureau of Prisons needs to fix this immediately," Gillibrand wrote. Mayor de Blasio tweeted on Saturday afternoon that he was sending city agencies to the jail to assess the situation.