Bronx Prison Set to Become a Re-Entry Center

At the Fulton Correctional Facility in the Bronx, its out with incarceration and in with rehabilitation. 

 

The jail closed in 2011, but now the state's handing the facility over to a nonprofit called the Osborne Association. The group aims to convert the former prison into a post-release facility where former inmates can live, learn skills, and find jobs. 

 

Elected officials say helping former inmates get their livelihoods back serves as a boost to the entire community.

 

"If we're going to create jobs, that means we cannot move forward, we cannot speak of unemployment or job creation, without speaking of the re-entry population," says Bronx Borough President Reuben Diaz Jr.

 

"It's a way to both transform peoples' lives, transform a building, and continue to make the Bronx, every single day, a little bit better," says State Senator Gustavo Rivera .

 

Before closing, Fulton helped its own inmates reintegrate in society. Osborne says its new mission's similar, but will expand to those who've already been released. 

 

The group says there's still a lot of work to be done to transform the facility. Osborne estimates it'll begin operating in about two years.