Last operating US prison ship, a grim vestige of mass incarceration, set to close in NYC

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A little-known New York City jail believed to be the last operating prison ship in the country is set to shutter the week. The barge first arrived in the South Bronx in 1992 and was one of several floating jails used by the city at the time. But while it was meant to be a temporary solution, the jail has remained operational — even as detainees and their advocates have repeatedly condemned its dank, cramped conditions and extreme isolation. Most of the roughly 500 people incarcerated in the jail earlier this month will be moved to Rikers Island, the city’s main jail complex.