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Project: Crossroads Juvenile Detention Center, Brooklyn, New York
Client: Department of Design and Construction, New York City
Architect: Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz--David Hobstetter, AIA, principal and design director; Robert Fierro, project manager and construction administrator
Associate Architect: Karlsberger Architecture
Engineers: DeSimone Chaplin + Associates (structural); Syska + Hennessey (mechanical/electrical)
Consultants: Maurice Wrangell (landscaping); ESA (security)
Artists: Carlton Ingelton (lobby);
Willie Birch (courtyard)
Construction Manager: CRSS
General Contractor: Monarios Contracting Company
Size: 114,500 square feet
Number of beds: 124
Construction cost: $24 million
The time a juvenile offender spends in secure detention--between arrest and adjudication--is an opportunity for positive intervention in his or her life. The Crossroads Juvenile Center, a 114,500-square-foot, $24 million facility run by the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), was designed to take advantage of this chance for guidance and rehabilitation.
The center houses alleged juvenile offenders aged seven to 15 while their cases are pending and, after sentencing, while they await transfer to state facilities. In 1998, 37 percent of the residents stayed three days; 58 percent were out in 10 days; the rest remained for weeks or months.
Crossroads' temporary residents are encouraged to rehabilitate themselves before becoming further enmeshed in the criminal justice system; the DJJ offers counseling as well as discipline, which is often lacking in their lives. ``Aftercare,'' a voluntary program, provides continued support services--counseling, advocacy, educational monitoring--to youth returning to the community after detention.
In 1985, the...