The Los Angeles Times stated that the prison is often referred to as the "Guantanamo of New York",[3] and The New York Times stated that its administrative segregation units had severe security measures.[4]
History
Opened in 1975 in the Civic Center neighborhood of Lower Manhattan,[5] MCC New York was the first high-rise facility to be used by the Bureau of Prisons.[6] The jail was technically an extension of the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, to which it was connected via a footbridge.[7] Prisoners were assigned to one of 10 separate, self-contained housing units, resulting in little movement within the facility. In 2002, it was widely reported that MCC New York was severely overcrowded.[6]
On August 26, 2021, the Federal Bureau of Prisons announced that the prison would be temporarily closed because of its deteriorating condition. At the time of the announcement, 233 prisoners were held there. They were moved to other prisons while the department dealt with the problems.[9]
Facility
The correctional center is housed in a 12-story high-rise building located at 150 Park Row in the Civic Center neighborhood. In 2017, it had 796 inmates, both male and female, which is far more than its design capacity of 449.[10][11] The facility has one female wing; seven General Population male wings, six of which feature cells and one is a dorm; one Special Housing Unit (SHU); and one maximum security unit. Each unit takes up two stories. All General Population units feature a gym (no weights), a kitchen (microwaves, hot water, ice), and five TV sets (one in the gym and four in the common area). Offices, classes, and computers are located on the unit's second floor. The jail is chronically understaffed.[11]
Inmates in the 10-South wing are locked inside single-man cells 23 hours a day that are continuously monitored by CCTV cameras and have lights on at all times.[4][12] Prisoners are kept isolated: their cells are equipped with showers, and the only time they're taken outside their cells is for exercise in an indoor cage. No outdoor recreation is permitted.[12] Most 10-South prisoners are subject to special administrative measures, which severely restrict their communication with other prisoners and with the outside world.[12]
The 9-South wing is a designated SHU. It houses inmates that violated prison rules; new arrivals that have not been medically cleared for General Population yet; and inmates in Protective Custody (PC).[12] Both inmates in a cell are cuffed at the back through a food slot every time the cell door is to be opened. Inmates are escorted to the shower three times a week, always cuffed.[citation needed] The wing has leaky plumbing that results in prisoners encountering pools of standing water and sewage, and it also has rodent and cockroach infestations.[13][14]
Deceased. Died of natural causes on February 18, 2017, after transfer to a medical unit at the Federal Correctional Complex, Butner, in North Carolina, while serving a life sentence plus 15 years under the name Omar Ahmad Rahman.
Serving a life sentence under the name Mostafa Kamel Mostafa.
Egyptian cleric and former associate of deceased Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden; extradited from the UK in 2012; convicted in 2014 of masterminding the 1998 kidnapping of Westerners in Yemen and conspiring to establish a terrorist training camp in Oregon in 1999.[17]
Serving a 19-year sentence; scheduled for release on January 17, 2036.
Convicted in New York of attempting to extort Nike and honest services fraud related to his client; also facing two other pending trials relating to tax evasion, filing false tax returns and allegations of defrauding clients including Stormy Daniels.[20]
Placed in the Federal Witness Protection Program in return for turning government witness in 1991; served a 19-year sentence in an Arizona prison after being convicted on state narcotics charges.[26] Released early in September 2017; was scheduled for release in March 2019.
Transferred to ADX Florence.[28] Serving a life sentence plus 30 years.
Known as "El Chapo" Guzmán, who on two prior occasions was able to escape High Security Facilities in Mexico, was extradited to the United States in 2017. He was accused of being the leader of a drug cartel with thousands of members, whose earnings are estimated to be in the billions. The charge coming out of the United States Court, Eastern District of New York, asserts that he and other members of the Sinaloa Cartel have used hired assassins to carry out murders, kidnappings, and torture. Time Out New York reported in August 2018 that the Brooklyn Bridge could be closed to traffic twice a day when Guzmán is transported across the river to face trial at the Federal District Court in Brooklyn.
Pardoned by President Donald Trump and released from federal custody on December 23, 2020.
Former Trump campaign manager, lobbyist, political consultant, and lawyer. Sentenced to 47 months in prison for lobbying violations and bank and tax fraud. Moved from FCI Loretto in June 2019. Expected to be released December 24, 2024, moved back to Loretto in August 2019. Pardoned by Trump on December 23, 2020.
Transferred to ADX Florence. Serving ten concurrent life sentences plus 260 years.
Sayfullo is being held in MCC, New York on a conviction of perpetrating a terrorist attack in New York City. He was charged with Providing material support for a terrorist organization and Destruction of a motor vehicle.
Transferred to ADX Florence. Serving a life sentence plus 240 years.
Convicted in 1994 of terrorism conspiracy and other charges in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which killed six people and injured more than 1,000. Yousef was also convicted in 1996 of planning Project Bojinka, a foiled plot conceived by senior Al-Qaeda member Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to bomb twelve planes in a 48-hour period.[34]
^Watkins, Ali; Ivory, Danielle; Goldbaum, Christina (August 17, 2019). "Inmate 76318-054: The Last Days of Jeffrey Epstein". The New York Times. Retrieved August 17, 2019. Beyond its isolation, the wing is infested with rodents and cockroaches, and inmates often have to navigate standing water — as well as urine and fecal matter — that spills from faulty plumbing, accounts from former inmates and lawyers said. One lawyer said mice often eat his clients' papers.