The demolition of ‘The Tombs’ Manhattan Detention Complex to prepare for the 300-foot ‘Jailscraper’ (aka the ‘Chinatown Jail’) in Lower Manhattan is meting out further headaches for residents around the Columbus Park area, the majority of whom are elderly, ABC7 reported recently.

Cracks and other noticeable damage are now beginning to appear in adjacent structures as the 900-bed behemoth is being taken down in advance of the construction of a controversial new facility that is promoted as being more ‘humane’ than its predecessor and the city’s Rikers Island facility — despite activists’ criticisms.

"We absolutely do not trust Gramercy Group with anything anymore," a member of the group Neighbors United Below Canal told journalists. "They violated the trust of this community. They violated the trust of the building next door. They've cracked their building. There's water seeping into this building as we speak."

In response, Councilmember Christopher Marte has asked the city's Buildings Department to issue a stop work order for the demolition. 

The New York Times also reported last week about how it is making the situation for residents of Chinatown, which has suffered from the worst social and economic impacts of Covid and is now beset by homelessness, even less tolerable than was previously envisioned in their failed legal attempt to halt construction on the basis of its environmental impact. (The site stands over the historic former Collect Pond, the excavation of which one local architect told the Times presents more risk for damage to nearby structures.)

"The city has this conflict between promoting Chinatown as this important, authentic place, but at the same time, doing everything it can to make it as hard as possible for local businesses," architectural historian Kerri Culhane told the Times. Neighbors United Below Canal’s founder Jan Lee added: "We are the dumping ground."

Markedly decreased air quality and noise pollution are among the other inbound issues at the site, along with an exodus of key medical services providers, artists, and many family-owned small businesses that have survived gentrification.

The Gramercy Group’s work will continue into 2025. New York Mayor Eric Adams and other officials have yet to comment on the demolition issues, which the DOB says they are now investigating. An architect for the new jail, which was included along with three others in an RFP the city issued in February 2020, is still yet to be selected.