Vote on Expansion of Jail Delayed

Opponents of a proposal to expand the Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday delayed a Board of Supervisors’ vote for one week, but admitted their chances of picking up the votes to kill the project are slim.

The county has proposed adding 2,408 beds to the Bauchet Street jail, bringing the capacity to 8,000 inmates. The $328-million project is the cornerstone of efforts to alleviate overcrowding in the county jail system.

About 75 residents and merchants from Chinatown, Olvera Street and the William Meade housing project directly behind the jail showed up at the board meeting to protest the plan, saying their communities are already overloaded with existing or proposed jail facilities.

The board agreed to the delay to give residents time to study the proposal.

Soledad Castellanos, president of the William Meade housing project’s residents council, told supervisors in Spanish, “From my apartment, it is less than 50 yards to the wall of the jail. Every day, we see prison guards, helicopters and patrol cars, especially when there are escapes. It is no way to raise children.”

Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alatorre said the plans for a jail expansion run counter to efforts to revitalize the northeast corridor to downtown Los Angeles. He and others urged supervisors to “spread the burden” for jail facilities throughout the county.

A new 2,100-bed jail is nearing completion in the Santa Clarita Valley and a 1,000-bed jail also is planned for Lynwood.