Residents of Manhattan’s Chinatown have filed a lawsuit seeking to halt construction of a new “megajail” in their neighborhood, arguing that the project’s nearly nonstop noise over the next six years amounts to “inhumane and cruel” treatment.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, says construction on the 16-story “jailscraper” beside Manhattan Criminal Court on Centre Street has been running 18 hours a day on weekdays and eight hours a day on weekends since Oct. 12 under a newly expanded work schedule.
“Our culture believes in honoring our elders. Subjecting them to around-the-clock drilling and construction through their final years is inhumane and cruel,” said Vic Lee, founder and CEO of Welcome to Chinatown, the community organization supporting the case.
Lee said residents support closing Rikers Island, but warned that the transition should not force another marginalized community to endure serious harm.
The longer workweek is part of the city’s $16 billion effort to shut down Rikers and replace the island complex with five borough-based jails.
According to the Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit, city officials say the extended construction hours could cut two years from the project’s timeline, allowing the Chinatown jail to be completed by 2032.
Residents counter that the impact on the surrounding community — including a nearby senior center — is too severe to ignore and should require the city to conduct a new environmental review.
“This new schedule represents more than a doubling of construction intensity as opposed to what was studied — and over twice as long a construction period,” the lawsuit alleges.
Many plaintiffs are older adults who say the construction has brought bright overnight lighting, relentless excavation noise, idling engines and clouds of dust into their daily lives.
The lawsuit says several residents have found the noise unbearable since the around-the-clock plan began 10 days ago, with weekday work scheduled from 6 a.m. until midnight.
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Filmmaker Jon Alpert, one of the plaintiffs, said the schedule has severely affected his health as he recovers from treatment for prostate cancer connected to his exposure during the Sept. 11 attacks.
The suit claims Alpert can no longer get a normal night’s sleep because “pounding” begins before sunrise, while several inches of construction dust have accumulated inside his Lafayette Street home.
Alpert, 77, said he has repeatedly raised his concerns with city officials and elected representatives, but “to no avail.”
Local City Councilmember Chris Marte accused City Hall of abandoning Chinatown.
“This unilateral move to work overnight and on weekends serves as the latest example of the City’s prioritization of a megajail over the health and safety of New Yorkers,” Marte said.
City officials said the noisiest tasks, including excavation, drilling and concrete placement, are scheduled between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. on weekdays. The remaining hours, they said, are reserved for preparation work.
City Hall also pointed to independent environmental safeguards already operating at the site, including monitors tracking vibration, dust and noise, along with mufflers and sound blankets intended to reduce construction impacts.
“We will respond to these claims in court,” said mayoral spokesperson Sam Raskin. “The Mamdani administration is committed to meeting our moral and legal obligations to closing the jails on Rikers Island and transitioning to a safer, more humane borough-based correctional system.”
The City Council set a 2027 deadline for closing Rikers in 2019, but Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged this summer that the target could not be met. The Post has also reported that the borough jail plan is already $8 billion over budget.
“We know that Mayor Mandani didn’t come up with this plan, but we hope he’ll fix it,” Lee said. “The City can close Rikers the right way.”