Saturday morning the Mothers against 1900 Seminole Avenue began their petition drive in front of Big Deal Supermarket on Morris Park Avenue gathering hundreds of signatures in a few hours on a petition, to stop the 'Just Home' experiment of placing medically compromised detainees/inmates from the Rikers Island medical infirmary to Building #2 at Jacobi Hospital called 1900 Seminole Avenue. The intent of the members of Mothers against 1900 Seminole Avenue is to gather thousands of signatures before year end to present to Mayor Eric Adams.
Since 2016 the Health and Hospitals Corporation has been tasked with providing medical care to those detained or placed at Rikers Island. With the scheduled closure of Rikers Island by 2027 for smaller borough based jails that will not have the medical facilities which Rikers Island currently has, other places must be found to house those detainees or inmates who need specialized medical care. The spaces to be used are the two top floors of North Central Bronx Hospital in the Norwood section of the Bronx, and Building #2 (currently vacant) at Jacobi Hospital. It is not known how many people will be housed at North Central Bronx, but it was originally announced that one-hundred micro apartments would be placed inside Building #2 at Jacobi Hospital of which seventy would be from Rikers Island and thirty would be low income housing. The number of people from Rikers Island has been lowered to fifty, but also said is that there would be at least fifty new people each year afterwards. There are also rumors that additional buildings might be built where there are currently parking lots on the Jacobi Campus, because according to a statement by HHC President Dr. Katz he doesn't like cars but he likes buildings.
Very little information has been provided to Community Board 11 and the community where Jacobi Hospital is located and there are still many questions that haven't been answered while more information about the number of people in the Rikers Island medical facility increases now at one thousand-sixty two detainee/inmates according to the latest head count by City Comptroller Brad Lander. The HHC will only use medical conditions for placement of the people from Rikers Island which can be as life threatening as stage four cancer, but as acute as diabetes according to a fact sheet provided by the HHC. HHC has said they will not consider or disclose any crime that may have been accused or committed by detainee/inmates, even with five schools in a quarter mile of Jacobi Hospital where any sex offender must register on the sex offender list. Residents of 'Just Home' will be supervised by the Fortune Society who were chosen in a no bid contract from the city HPD unit. Residents of 'Just Home' will be able to leave the Jacobi Hospital Complex to do whatever they want and travel on mass transit as HHC said they will be able to use the BX12 bus on Pelham Parkway which runs from Coop-City to the 207th Street subway station in upper Manhattan. The residents of 'Just Home' will also be able to have unchecked visitors and people who live near and around Jacobi Hospital are worried as the local police precinct is undermanned and overworked according to its police personal.
Outside the Big Deal supermarket on Morris Park Avenue members of Mothers against 1900 Seminole Avenue collect signatures against placing Riker Island detainee/inmates at Jacobi Hospital.
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