NYC's Chinatown in uproar over plans for supersized 300-foot-tall jail as community worries it has become a 'dumping ground' with several homeless shelters

Local residents in Manhattan's Chinatown are distressed about plans to build the world's tallest jail in their backyard.

Currently, construction crews are working to demolish the figure that stands where the jail will go, and residents say they are experiencing the noise, dust and shaking brought about by the project.

The demolition of the Manhattan Detention Complex, also sometimes referred to as The Tombs, has created chaos for its neighbors, which include an area senior center, where cracks have developed along the walls and residents close their windows to keep dust from flying in.

The new jail is projected to have 1,040 beds, underground parking and 20,000 square feet of space on its block-wide street level, according to the New York Times.

The Manhattan Detention Center was built in the Egyptian Revival style nearly 200 years ago, thus earning its nickname. It has been remodeled a number of times since its original opening in 1838 and was closed in November of 2020 ahead of its demolition.

New York City has plans to erect the world's tallest jail in the backyard of longtime Chinatown residents

The plan is proceeding as the Manhattan Detention Complex (pictured), which closed in 2020, is demolished, causing noise, dust, and shaking to disturb the neighborhood locals

Those in favor of the city's plan to build a massive lock-up building say its establishment is necessary in order to accomplish the long-term goal of shutting down Rikers Island, where reports of violence and death have plagued the city for years.

The demolition is scheduled to be largely done by early next year, though City Hall recently said they will likely not be able to close Rikers by the legally mandated deadline of 2027.

The city has not yet awarded the building contract to a company, but zoning codes could allow the new building to rise 300 feet into the sky.

According to the Times, roughly 30 percent of neighborhood residents near the site are 65 or older and 60 percent are Asian.

The senior center that sits right next to the jail site contains 88 apartments for low-income older people, which allows the largely immigrant population of the neighborhood to remain in the community.

Some of the elderly couples who live in the building spent years on a waiting list to receive an apartment offer, but now have to contend with the shaking and the allergies brought about by dust.

Foi Lin Cheng, 74, told the outlet, 'Sometimes, it shakes so much, I feel like the building is going to collapse.'

Now that the demolition is actively taking place, she says she goes through a box of tissues a day because of the dust.

A rendering of the new MDC shows that massive complex will take up an entire city block, and is expected to hold 1,040 beds

Residents in the neighborhood, which has long been a deposit site for unpopular city building projects, are suffering from the effects of the demolition of MDC

Many say the demolition and future construction are badly impacting their local businesses, which barely made it through COVID

Kerri Culhane, who studies the architectural history of the neighborhood, says Chinatown has in the past been used as a repository for city projects that no other area wants.

Jan Lee, who helped co-found the nonprofit Neighbors United Below Canal, which represents business owners and residents, called Chinatown a 'dumping ground.'

He mentioned several homeless shelters that have gone up in the neighborhood, while zero significant affordable housing initiatives have been developed for many years.