NYCEDC Unveils Winning Bid to Remove and Scrap Decommissioned Jail Barge in Hunts Point
Louisiana Scrap Metal Recycling to Remove Massive Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center Barge in New York Harbor to Be Taken Apart and Recycled into Metal for Future U.S. Built Projects, Pay City $1.5 million
Removal of Barge Will Clear Site for Future Hunts Point Marine Terminal, Delivers on Key Promise of Mayor Adams’ “Hunts Point Forward” Vision
BRONX, NY—New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today announced the selection of Louisiana Scrap Metal Recycling to remove the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center (VCBC) to take apart the barge and use its materials to help build new things. VCBC is a decommissioned five-story jail barge in Hunts Point. The company—which has substantial experience dismantling and recycling large barges and U.S. Navy vessels—will tug the barge away from the Hunts Point peninsula to their facility in Gibson, Louisiana, where they will dismantle the vessel for resale of its recovered metals to steel mills and other metal foundries. The City will receive $1.5 million in compensation in addition to significant value of removal and transportation of the barge out of New York. Removal of the jail barge is expected to occur later this Fall.
“From clearing out an old prison barge to creating a new marine terminal, our administration is turning the page on Hunts Point and creating a cleaner, brighter future for the Bronx. With this new terminal, we’ll unload cargo from all across the world for delivery throughout the city and put even more New Yorkers to work in vibrant industries,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “But we’re not stopping at Hunts Point. We are proud to be leading ambitious projects like this one all across our waterfront as we create a ‘Harbor of the Future’ and set our city up for success in the decades to come.”
“In June of this year the Adams administration announced our intention to remove the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center from Hunts Point and today that process advances one step further,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo Carrión, Jr. “I am excited to have a partner in the process of decommissioning this barge and I look forward to the site of removing this vessel later this year so that we can realize the full potential of this site as an asset for the Bronx and all of its residents.”
The removal of the jail barge will clear the waterfront site for remediation of Con Edison historic manufactured gas contamination and development of a new Hunts Point Marine Terminal, which will receive shipping containers and process their cargo onto additional barges and ferries for last-mile deliveries throughout New York City. This new marine terminal—which will create an estimated 400 construction jobs, 100 permanent jobs, and $3.9 billion in economic impact over the next 30 years—would serve as a key connection point between ports up and down the East Coast, including the Brooklyn Marine Terminal and other “Blue Highways” nodes in New York City. It would also remove an estimated 9,000 monthly truck trips from city streets and reduce congestion. While the site goes through a two-year land remediation process to remediate historic pollution on the site, scheduled for completion in 2027, EDC will invest $28.3 million in state of good repairs to the shoreline at the VCBC site and DSNY’s South Bronx Marine Transfer Terminal, as well as investments in an expansion of local greenways.
“Today we take another crucial step towards the removal of the decommissioned Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center and work towards Mayor Adams’ vision of the Hunts Point Marine Terminal,” said NYCEDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball. “We look forward to working with Louisiana Scrap Metal Recycling as well as planning for a proper send-off of the prison barge with agency partners, elected officials, and the Hunts Point community so we can turn over a new page for this site.”
“Louisiana Scrap Metal Recycling is proud to partner with the City of New York on this historic project," said Matt Rongey, COO of Louisiana Scrap Metal Recycling. "The Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center barge was originally built in Louisiana at the Avondale Shipyards, so it’s especially meaningful for our team to be entrusted with its safe removal and recycling. By dismantling and responsibly recycling the barge, we’re ensuring that its metal will be repurposed into new, U.S.-built projects — supporting sustainability, reducing environmental impact, and creating long-term value for communities across the country."
Today’s announcement continues progress toward Mayor Adams’ commitment in 2022 to close and repurpose the VCBC site as part of the ‘Hunts Point Forward’ vision, a comprehensive plan to create economic opportunity and improve quality of life for New Yorkers in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the South Bronx. The plan outlines a 15-year vision shared by the city and the community with more than 70 short- and long-term recommendations for creating family-sustaining jobs, improving public safety, enhancing community health and access to healthy food, promoting environmental justice, and delivering upgrades to open space, transportation, and other key community infrastructure.
“Removing the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center barge is a powerful symbol of transformation for Hunts Point and the South Bronx and I am pleased to see the barge being responsibly recycled with the City receiving compensation,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. “I look forward to the future Hunts Point Marine Terminal, which will help The Bronx by reclaiming our waterfront, creating good paying jobs, reducing truck traffic, and delivering environmental justice for a community that has carried an unfair burden for far too long. I want to thank Mayor Adams, NYC EDC President Andrew Kimball, and all of our partners for making good on the promises of the ‘Hunts Point Forward’ plan as we work to build a future that centers on health, opportunity, and equity for residents of The Bronx.”
“The closure of the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center—‘The Barge’—is a long-overdue and historic action that ends decades of empty promises that overlooked the facility's detrimental impact on my South Bronx community,” said New York City Council Member Rafael Salamanca, Jr. “The South Bronx has been burdened long enough by this antiquated, floating jail, which has been a blight on our waterfront, and which has served as a reminder of the City’s previous disregard for the local Hunts Point community. The removal of The Barge represents a future where the South Bronx benefits from green jobs, cleaner air, and a waterfront that is accessible and beneficial to the residents of Hunts Point and beyond. From the very beginning, there has only been one consistent message from myself and my constituents, and I am excited to finally issue that very rallying cry to SINK THE BARGE!”
“The Community Board is thrilled that the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center is going to be scrapped and looks forward to celebrating the eventual removal of this prison barge from the Hunts Point Peninsula,” said Bronx Community Board 2 District Manager Ralph Acevedo. “For years, the site has been a sore sight for the South Bronx and we will continue working with the City and community so the Hunts Point Marine Terminal can become a reality and deliver a Blue Highway facility with good paying jobs, new public open space, and much needed waterfront access.”
About NYCEDC
New York City Economic Development Corporation is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that works for a vibrant, inclusive, and globally competitive economy for all New Yorkers. We take a comprehensive approach, through four main strategies: strengthen confidence in NYC as a great place to do business; grow innovative sectors with a focus on equity; build neighborhoods as places to live, learn, work, and play; and deliver sustainable infrastructure for communities and the city's future economy. To learn more about what we do, visit us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
