The Honorable Councilmember Pinto

Chair, Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety

Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20004

August 7, 2023

Dear Councilmember Pinto,

The City Administrator has asked the Department of General Services (DGS) to respond to your questions
on the status and next steps for the Central Cell Block (CCB). Because of the deteriorated conditions of the
Daly Building, for the past several years we have been moving agencies and services out of the building to
other locations. For example, we have moved the majority of the Metropolitan Police Department out of their
former headquarters to new office space at One Judiciary Square.

Because the CCB provides an essential service to our criminal justice system, it is imperative that it be located
close to D.C. Superior Court. While we considered using the DC Jail to temporarily house the CCB, the
conditions of that aging facility and travel distance to the courthouse made it an unsuitable option. Instead,
the 501 New York Avenue site provided an existing location that has been used for many years to process
and hold arrestees. The renovations needed for this site were first funded by Council in the Fiscal Year 2019
budget and we appreciate the need to ensure the location is safe and conducive to the District’s public safety
needs. In response to your question, DGS did not consider 510 4th Street NW for the CCB as it is a federally-
owned property.

In your letter, you shared two community concerns with the New York Avenue location: soundproofing and
the release of detainees. We agree with your proposals on both items.

DGS has engaged the services of DLR, a leading design firm in detention and public safety facilities. The
design of a detention facility always considers elements that deal with sound mitigation. Below are some of
the sound mitigation elements incorporated into the design of 501 New York Avenue:

• All cells are in-set to the building and away from the exterior walls to mitigate any sound transmission
from the interior to the building exterior.
• All cells have glazed fronts instead of bar grills or mess fronts; this will keep much of the sounds in the
cells.
• Sound-absorbing materials are in the corridors outside the cell areas to help reduce sound propagation.
• Most cells are in the basement, with small plastic windows and deep wells around the building. The
location and material of the window offer additional buffers to deflect sounds from migrating out of the
building.
• The processing area is on the New York Avenue side of the building and is planned south and away from
the residential area. The small processing areas next to the vehicle sallyport are behind windowless brick
walls.
 • The vehicle sallyport has a window to the east, away from residences. Additionally, new insulated roll-
up doors will be installed, replacing older once on each end of the sallyport.
The Department of Corrections (DOC) is committing to providing transportation for any released arrestee
from the CCB to D.C. Superior Court, where accessible transportation is provided.

We have two points of contact for questions related to the CCB: For operations inquiries, Setareh Yelle, DOC
Public Information Officer, setareh.yelle@dc.gov; and for construction inquiries, John Stokes, DGS
Associate Director of External Affairs, john.stokes@dc.gov.

Sincerely,

Delano Hunter
Acting Director

CC: Kevin Donahue, City Administrator

Lindsay Appiah, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice
Pamela Smith, Acting Chief, Metropolitan Police Department
Thomas Faust, Director, Department of Corrections

Government of the District of Columbia Department

of General Services | dgs.dc.gov
3924 Minnesota Avenue, NE, 5th Floor, Washington DC, 20019