Judge halts overnight work on the Chinatown jail. What the Council has heard about the jail's timeline

A Manhattan Supreme Court judge on Monday temporarily stopped after-hours construction on the borough-based jail being built in Chinatown, Gothamist reported. The order came days after neighbors and local groups sued the city over permits that let crews work from 6 a.m. to midnight on weekdays.

Under the temporary restraining order, crews can still work during regular permitted hours. The order stays in place while the court considers the neighbors' request for a longer-lasting preliminary injunction. The next court date is Dec. 1, according to Gothamist.

For people living around the site, it means quieter nights for at least the next five weeks. For the city, it could mean a slower schedule. City officials have said that without extended hours the project could face more delays and hundreds of millions of dollars in added costs, Gothamist reported. A City Hall spokesperson said earlier that the city was taking steps to reduce construction noise. The Mamdani administration did not immediately comment on the ruling.

Jan Lee, a co-founder of Neighbors United Below Canal, one of the groups that sued, told Gothamist the group was "over the moon" about the decision.

We covered the lawsuit when it was filed: Chinatown groups sue over late-night work on the borough jail. That story laid out two Council bills on jail construction that have had no hearing. Here is what else is in the record.

What our records add

The Council's budget hearing on the jails, in June. On June 2, the Finance and Criminal Justice committees held a joint executive budget hearing with the Department of Correction. Opening for Criminal Justice, chair Selvena N. Brooks-Powers said the hearing would cover the department's roughly $1.3 billion budget and the effort to close Rikers Island and move to borough-based jails (video). Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards cited the "topping off" of the Brooklyn facility as an important milestone (video). Later in the hearing, a member pressed department officials on the timeline for the other sites, saying they had not seen construction under way. An official said design was being finalized on the remaining facilities before construction.

The coordinator question. At a Feb. 19 Criminal Justice hearing, Richards was reminded that Local Law 140 of 2025, passed last term, required the Correction commissioner to name a full-time coordinator for the move to borough-based jails, and was asked for an update on hiring. Richards, then new in the job, said he was still being briefed on the jails' status and called it a priority. Council Member Lincoln Restler's bill to put a jail construction coordinator in the City Charter, Int. 630, has still not had a hearing. It has now waited 257 days in the Committee on Criminal Justice.

After-hours permits come up often. At the Housing and Buildings Committee's March 24 hearing, Council Member Gale A. Brewer said plainly that she hates after-hours variances and asked the Buildings Department how they are granted. At the Oct. 21 hearing, Council Member Carl Wilson asked how much construction happens after hours. The department said it would have to come back with numbers. Int. 636, Restler's bill requiring an after-hours variance for hauling away construction debris, remains in committee.

The district's member has asked about cost. Council Member Christopher Marte, whose district includes the site, asked at the Council's March 25 budget hearing whether the Chinatown jail's cost estimate would keep rising.

What's next

The court returns to the case Dec. 1. Until then, the temporary order limits work to regular hours. In the Council, no jail construction bill is on an upcoming agenda. The Criminal Justice Committee met Monday on the Probation Department's strategy (meeting) and meets again today on maternal health in the justice system (meeting). The next full Council meeting is Nov. 12.