The Manhattan Detention Facility, a new 13-storey jail in New York City, is set to become the world's tallest prison as part of a $16bn programme to replace the infamous Rikers Island complex.
The 335-ft facility, designed by HOK, will accommodate 1,040 beds and occupy the former Manhattan Detention Complex site, known as "The Tombs", at 125 White Street in Chinatown. Images indicate it will reach the same height as the adjacent New York County Criminal Court.
Design and Features
The scheme includes a walkway running through the base, a double-skin system incorporating security mesh, and a façade of "undulating panels", as described by Dezeen. A design document states: "To address privacy, a double skin system with security mesh and architectural screen supports visual privacy by creating a separation between the exterior-most facade and the people in custody."
Current plans place prisoners on the upper floors, with the public entering via a ground-floor reception, and staff parking in an underground car park, although the design is still being decided upon. Existing site artwork, including sculptures by Kit-Yin Snyder, would be retained, alongside additions such as a new walkway and public seating.
Rikers Island Closure
Rikers Island, a century-old complex in the East River between the Bronx and Queens, houses 10 city jails and has long been associated with violence, inhumane conditions and deaths. The city comptroller Brad Lander's office has previously called it a "moral stain on the city". Disturbing images published in 2024 revealed squalid conditions inside its Otis Bantum Correctional Center, where up to 26 men were allegedly crammed into makeshift cells during the Covid pandemic, with plastic sheets for blankets, cardboard for beds, and plastic bags for toilets.
The city confirmed in 2019 that the complex would be closed, with four new sites set to take its place, including the "jailscraper". The target was to shut Rikers by the end of August 2027, but the Mayor's Office of New York City acknowledged in June that the deadline will probably slip. The complex has capacity for up to 15,000 people and has housed notable inmates including Tupac Shakur, Sid Vicious, Mark David Chapman, Harvey Weinstein, David Berkowitz and Rodney Alcala.
Community Opposition
The proposals have reportedly drawn opposition from residents, businesses and community groups, with Chinatown leaders urging Mayor Zohran Mamdani to rethink the location. In a letter addressed to Mamdani, Deputy Mayor Julia Kerson and other officials, 18 community leaders said the proposed site "sits on the soft, waterlogged ground of the old Collect Pond". As reported by the New York Post, it also stated: "The construction plan calls for the deepest excavation ever attempted on its site, digging well below the water table. The city's report warns that pumping out that water during construction can cause the surrounding ground to sink, and once it sinks, it does not come back."
The scheme could be finished as early as 2032, forming part of the programme to replace Rikers with four borough-based jails near local courthouses.
