Jillian Jorgensen And Reuven Blau
New York Daily News
The de Blasio administration is adding educational programs and frosting classroom windows to quell some of the violence at the Horizon Juvenile Center.
The classes will “keep youth engaged” and the new windows will “limit distractions during class,” the city’s Administration for Children’s Services said Thursday.
Officials previously announced that they’d be bolting down classroom desks and other large pieces of furniture so they can’t be used as weapons inside the Bronx facility.
Teens have frequently scuffled with staff inside the Brook Ave. facility since it opened on Oct. 1.
“There are real challenges but we’re going to address them,” Mayor de Blasio told reporters Thursday. “We have got to create a consistent secure environment and we will do that.”
The city moved close to 100 teens from Rikers Island and city lockups to the center to comply with the state’s new “Raise the Age” law. Under that measure, 16 and 17-year-old offenders must be treated as juveniles.
“This reform…is the right idea,” de Blasio said. “It’s right to get our young people out of jail settings.”
But the city has struggled to quell violence at the new facility.
On Sunday, a correction officer’s nose was broken when a teen slammed him in the face with a walkie talkie.
“I want to be very clear. Even though they’re young they will be held accountable, and any young people who inappropriately act will feel the consequences,” de Blasio said.
Inmate advocates and the jail officer unions are opposed to staffing the facility with 300 correction officers. They argue the center should be exclusively handled by civilian personnel.
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