The city has taken to first steps to re-writing its jail system with a pitch to design-build teams qualified to create next generation prisons. NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) has issued two Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) seeking highly qualified design-build teams to build new jails in the Bronx and Queens as part of the City’s Borough-Based Jails Program. “We strongly encourage qualified designers and builders to join us in this transformational program to create facilities that enable the best modern correctional practices,” said DDC First Deputy Commissioner Jamie Torres-Springer. JAMIE TORRES-SPRINGER “The Borough-Based Jails Program is funded and despite the difficulty of working through the pandemic we remain on track to deliver the four new jails in time to meet the deadline to close Rikers Island.”