Notorious NYC prison is set to be given dramatic makeover as Diddy is held there on sex trafficking charges
New York City’s notorious federal prison, where hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is being held on a series of sex trafficking charges, is currently undergoing a major renovation.
The Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset, Brooklyn, also known as MDC, has a history of extreme violence, multiple deaths, poor conditions, security problems, severe staffing shortages, drug and contraband smuggling (some of which is run by prison staff), and food containing maggots (which has since been disproven).
The prison has been deemed so dangerous that some judges have refused to send other violent offenders there. Some of the notorious inmates held there include Ghislaine Maxwell, Sam Bankman-Fried and R. Kelly.
The Urgent Action Team, made up of a group of senior officials from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, has been working to improve the decades-old facility.
Diddy’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami were searched by federal authorities who say there were rooms in the Miami mansion that were exclusively devoted to sex. In this photo, the music mogul was spotted in New York hours before his arrest
The Metropolitan Detention Center is seen through barbed wire in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, upgrades and repairs to the electrical and plumbing systems, heating and air conditioning systems, and food service were made over several weeks in the spring. NBC News report revealed.
Combs, who pleaded not guilty to human trafficking charges on Tuesday, is being held in solitary confinement — far from the comforts of his $48 million mansion — and is under suicide watch.
His attorney, Marc Agnifilo, claims MDC is unfit for pretrial detention and is pushing to have him transferred to a New Jersey prison while he awaits trial.
Top officials from the group have visited the prison regularly and meet weekly to discuss the problems of the 1,200 inmates held there.
On Friday, the group announced some of the new changes, including a 20 percent increase in the number of correctional officers and medical staff, but there are still 157 vacancies, the news outlet reported.
According to court documents, MDC was operating at about 55 percent of its full capacity.
The agency said the city’s high cost of living and starting salaries that are much lower than other law enforcement agencies are among the reasons for prison staffing shortages across the country, particularly in New York City.
To address this growing problem, many officers at MDC have been forced to work overtime repeatedly. The Bureau of Prison has tried to stop officers from increasing retention bonuses to boost pay.
The official, who spoke anonymously to the Associated Press, said members of the Urgent Action Team are providing the prison with “continued attention” and “continued leadership focus” to reduce problems at the prison, NBC reported.
MDC came into the spotlight after Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 suicide at another New York City prison, the Metropolitan Correctional Facility.
The prison was cited for lax oversight, grim conditions and crumbling infrastructure. The prison was closed in 2021 by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The Metropolitan Detention Center, also known as MDC, is operated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons. The prison currently houses 1,200 inmates.
Sean P. Diddy Combs at the height of his career, pictured in 2022 at the Combs Bad Body Entertainment Party in Eugene’s
Combs attorney Marc Agnifilo speaks to reporters outside a federal courthouse following a bail hearing for Combs in New York last week
The inside of a cell with bunk beds, a combination toilet and sink in the MDC and the harsh conditions in which the prisoners are kept
This photo shows the administrative maximum special housing unit
This summer, there were two fatal stabbings and another stabbing in April, in which an inmate was stabbed 44 times by members of the MS-13 gang at the MDC, NBC reported.
Improvements to MDC Brooklyn come after Congress stepped up oversight and passed a new law overhauling oversight of the federal prison system. In addition, the federal prison system has fallen into further disarray since Combs’ arrival.