Return the Second Street Jail to the Morningside Community as Promised
Shortly after being elected in 1980, former Sheriff Carmen Massimiano began lobbying State Officials for the funds to build a new Berkshire County Correctional Facility to replace the aging jail at 264 Second Street in Pittsfield. Massimiano stated that the building, which housed 78 prisoners in 1978, and was constructed in 1870, was fire-prone and seriously out of date.
After successfully securing the funds, more than a decade later, plans were developed to build “the most technologically advanced county correctional facility in the Northeast” on Cheshire Road in Pittsfield. And, after consulting with a women’s task force, the Sheriff opened a state of the art $39.1 million* men’s and women’s facility in February 2001 designed to house more than 500 inmates.
At the time, while securing taxpayer funds to build the new correctional facility, promises were made to the Morningside Community to remove the jail and Sheriff’s operations from 2nd Street, and return the building to the community to be put to good use. However, those promises have never been kept.
Located directly next to the Morningside Elementary School, the old iron fencing and bars on the jail windows, coupled with the chain-link around the Morningside Elementary School, makes it appear that both facilities are part of one jail complex, save for the children’s playground equipment sitting ironically in the shadow of the jail.
Since 2011, Sheriff Bowler has used the facility sporadically for a variety of uses, such as a now closed Juvenile Resource Center, a short stint as a homeless shelter, and more recently, a place for locals to meet with lawyers for housing court advice. It also now houses the Civil Process Division, after recently being relocated from the Eagle Clocktower Building in Downtown Pittsfield.
The 160,000 square foot facility on Cheshire Road was designed to house all of the Sheriff’s activities. Speaking with members of the local community, they say they still would like to see a better use for the 2nd Street building than a jail and Sheriff’s facility.
If elected Sheriff, I pledge to finally return the facility to the Morningside Community. Personally, my idea is to create a mixed-use affordable housing project, with nice park-like grounds, but ideally, we would solicit ideas from the community, perhaps create a commission, and working with State and City officials, finally make good on a 20+ year old promise and give this historic building back to Morningside so that it may serve the community in it’s highest good.
*some sources say $34 million, the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Website states $39.1 million
