Brooklyn Detention Complex

For the federal prison, see Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Detention Complex (originally the Brooklyn House of Detention) was a jail facility located at 275 Atlantic Avenue, in Brooklyn. At full capacity, it was able to house 815 male prisoners in its single cells.^[1] Most of the population was made up of detainees undergoing the intake process or awaiting trial in Kings or Richmond County.^[1]

Brooklyn Detention Complex

The new jail being constructed in 2025
Location	275 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn New York
Coordinates	40.6890°N 73.9895°W / 40.6890; -73.9895
Status	Closed

The Brooklyn Detention Complex in 2017

Built in the 1950s, the jail closed in 2003 due to a declining inmate population. It reopened in 2012 after renovations with 544 staff.^[2]

In 2017, New York City committed to closing the jails on Rikers Island and creating a network of modern borough-based jails instead. The Brooklyn Detention Center was designated as one of the jails that would be used to replace Rikers.^[3] In August 2018, the city released a Draft Scope of Work outlining their plan for the new jail, which would tear down the existing 162,000 sq ft. facility and replace it with a building eight times as large (1.4 million sq ft.) and up to 40 stories tall.^[4]

In March 2024, plans for the new jail gained traction with the demolition of the old structure. Construction began in 2025, projected to be complete in 2029.^[5]