The U.S. Bureau of Prisons released an internal report that found many problems at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, New York. It also faulted federal jails leadership for ignoring the winter 2019 crisis. This report was done in the wake of severe winter cold and power outages. It criticised the jail warden's response to these circumstances. This scathing report is even more shocking because it was completed months before the Bureau of Prisons decided to promote Herman Quay, the warden who oversaw the fiasco to a position with more responsibility. He oversees twice the number of people than a complex warden at Allenwood in Pennsylvania. Betsy Ginsberg is a Cardozo School of Law professor and was one of the attorneys representing the class in court. They discovered that the warden in charge of this facility was allowing this to continue, and instead of corrective action to protect the lives of those they care for, they promoted him.This report was compiled by twelve BOP officers from other offices and facilities. It was then shared with lawyers representing people who were incarcerated at MDC Brooklyn. They are suing the jails administration for the conditions they suffered during the crisis. Although the so-called "after-action" report was initially kept secret, lawyers representing the class convinced the judge to release the fact-finding section and the analysis sections to the public. The recommendations section is still secret and redacted. Deirdre Von Dornum, the attorney in charge of the Federal Defenders of the Eastern District of New York, said that she appreciated the integrity and honesty of this report. She was there with a federal judge during the worst of the crisis. However, I don't believe that MDC has made any significant improvements. However, I don't believe that anything has changed at MDC.The overall condition of the systems was poor and did not have regular preventative maintenance.After the crisis was declared over, the jail's cooling and heating system were still in disarray. 23 percent of outside air dampers had been disconnected or disabled, 53 percent of pressure gauges were out of service, and virtually all the hot water recirculation pumps of the heating system had stopped working or were removed. The investigators questioned staff and were told that many of these systems had been offline or disconnected for years. However, annual inspections and reports didn't reflect this fact. According to the report authors, the system were filthy and needed regular preventive maintenance. However, staff did not know how to do it. The report revealed a lack of competency and staff discussions revealed a lack of basic knowledge about systems in their field. Staff were also able to rationalize the situation and explain why they did not maintain systems in compliance with manufacturer standards.The report also found that MDC staff failed to properly deal with the aftermath of power and heating failures. Each inquiry from the media seeking to know what was going on behind the prison walls took the facility more than 16 hours to respond. Even BOP headquarters' Legal Services department didn't receive prompt responses to repeated inquiries from the media. Investigators also couldn’t find any evidence that they had communicated with all those in custody locked up in dark cells.The Bureau of Prisons didn't immediately respond to inquiries about the report or Quays promotion. The Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to questions about the report and Quays promotion. The report shows that the medical staff was responsive to the needs of the patient population during this incident. This is in contrast to Judge Analisa Torres's horrifying record when she toured the facility during the crisis with her court reporter and spoke to incarcerated persons whose medical conditions ranged from bloody colitis to suicidal mental distress to putrefying shot wounds.
