GOWANUS — A parole office where ex-convicts can check in and get help transition back into the community is slated to open on Second Avenue, the property owner said.
The Brooklyn office of the NY State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, which serves a portion of the more than 36,500 parolees currently under the state's purview, is set relocate its facility to 15 2nd Ave. near the Fourth Street Basin in Gowanus, said Chaim Simkowitz of Fifteen Second Avenue LLC, which owns the site, in a July 2 letter to Community Board 6.
The state agency's borough office will take over the 55,000 square-foot property for parole officers as well as for community supervision and administrative staff. About 18,000 square feet will be set aside for a reporting station, where parolees with approved residences in Brooklyn will meet their parole officers.
In March 2012, the offices were moved to their current location at 340 Livingston St. in Downtown Brooklyn, but the property manager said they needed a larger office to accommodate their operation. The agency declined to say why the office is moving.
It is extremely difficult to find appropriate space for DOCCS because they have specific space needs,” Simkowitz said in a letter to CB6 district manager Craig Hammerman.
“The DOCCS facility fulfills a critical community need, providing a meeting space for parolees and parole offices, and assisting with their transition into the community,” Simkowitz continued.
Simkowitz was not immediately available to comment.
The city’s Department of Buildings renewed permits in March for the construction of two floors atop the one-story Gowanus building at Second Avenue near Fifth Street.
Last week, a partial “Stop Work” order was issued by the Department of Buildings because of illegal or unsafe use of a crane at the construction site. The order was rescinded on July 8.
In a letter to acting DOCCS commissioner Anthony Annucci, Hammerman questioned the non-manufacturing use of the property, which is located in an Industrial Business Zone in Gowanus, as well as the lack of public information about the process of approval for the development.
“I confess I was unable to find a single reference to this situation on your agency’s website,” he said.
Construction at the site is ongoing and an opening date has not yet been scheduled.
