NoVo Foundation, the organization that was behind the redevelopment of the former Bayview Correctional Facility made the agonizing decision to end redevelopment. The plan had been to transform the former prison into The Women’s Building; where businesses by and services for self-identifying women would be supported and housed. The building is on Manhattan’s westside across from the Chelsea Piers sports complex.
The facility was originally closed in 2012 after 153 women who were incarcerated there were evacuated due to Superstorm Sandy. The repair budget for the damage done to the building by the storm was beyond what the NYS budget could sustain. That is the point that the NoVo Foundation stepped in. After years of planning the development, however, timelines and budgets far exceeded what the foundation originally anticipated. And getting women licensed to carry out the building redevelopment proved to be a complicated process. The foundation posted a letter to the community that further addresses their decision in 2019.
As of January 2021, the building still remains vacant and there are no known plans for its future since prison redevelopment ended. We’d love to know your ideas for what the future of Bayview could be! Please post your thoughts in the comments field below.
