The NYS “Raise the Age” legislation, reclassifying adolescents under 18 from adults to juveniles, profoundly changed the course of NYC’s Juvenile Justice Facilities Realignment Program. The legislation mandated the relocation of detainees under the age of 18 off of Rikers Island by October of 2018, allowing the City only 18 months to comply. It came at a pivotal moment: Urbahn was completing the alteration design for the Horizon Juvenile Center to temporarily consolidate the entire juvenile population at one location. We quickly developed a new strategy that supported a radically altered operational paradigm. Urbahn worked intensively with a multi-agency committee led by the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice to develop an innovative approach: immediate “Make Ready” work to meet the legislative deadline, and “Post October” work to fulfill long-term goals.
