LOUISIANA SCRAP METAL RECYCLING
Marine Recycling Project:
Vernon C. Bain
“From Bars to Beams”
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.
New York City Economic Development Press Release
NYCEDC Unveils Winning Bid to Remove and Scrap Decommissioned Jail Barge in Hunts Point
By NYCEDC Oct 01 2025
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.”
Originally published by New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC)
https://edc.nyc/press-release/nycedc-unveils-winning-bid-remove-and-scrap-decommissioned-jail-barge-hunts-point
Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center
Overview
The Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center (VCBC), also known as the Vernon C. Bain Maritime Facility or simply “The Boat,” was a floating jail operated by the New York City Department of Correction. Anchored off the Bronx near Rikers Island, it served primarily as a medium- to maximum-security facility for inmates awaiting trial or transfer.
Commissioned in 1992 and decommissioned in 2023, the VCBC was unique in being one of the world’s largest prison barges. It could hold around 800 inmates and was used at various times for both adult and juvenile detention. The facility was named after Vernon C. Bain, a respected warden who died in an automobile accident before the barge opened.
Origins and Purpose
In the late 1980s, New York City was struggling with severe jail overcrowding. Building new land-based jails met with community resistance, so city officials explored alternative options. The idea of a floating jail emerged as a creative, mobile solution that could relieve pressure on Rikers Island without adding permanent facilities in residential neighborhoods.
Before the VCBC, the city had already experimented with jail ships such as the Bibby Resolution and Bibby Venture, both converted British troop carriers moored near Rikers Island. These vessels were eventually retired by the early 1990s, paving the way for a purpose-built correctional barge.
Construction
The barge was constructed in 1989 at Avondale Shipyard in Louisiana by Avondale Industries. Initially budgeted at approximately $125 million, the project experienced cost overruns and technical delays, including ventilation issues, which postponed delivery by about 18 months.
On January 26, 1992, the vessel was towed roughly 1,800 nautical miles to New York City and anchored near Rikers Island. At 625 feet long and 125 feet wide, the barge was designed to comply with U.S. Coast Guard standards, making it one of the most secure and technologically advanced correctional facilities of its kind at the time.
Facility Design
Inside the VCBC were 16 dormitories and roughly 100 individual cells. The facility included a full gymnasium with a basketball court, exercise and weight rooms, and a rooftop recreation area with open-air fencing.
There were also three chapels, a medical clinic, and a library. The barge weighed more than 47,000 tons and could generate its own power and water systems. Despite its modern design at the time of launch, the vessel’s condition deteriorated over the years. Reports of leaks, dim lighting, and maintenance challenges became common in later decades.
Operations and Use
Upon opening, the VCBC housed inmates awaiting trial or transfer, serving as overflow capacity for Rikers Island. It was initially met with skepticism due to its high cost and the perception that it was an unconventional solution to overcrowding.
In 1995, as inmate populations declined, the barge was temporarily closed. It reopened in 1998 under the Department of Juvenile Justice, housing juvenile offenders while other facilities were being renovated. Later, it returned to the Department of Correction as a medium-security facility.
By the late 2010s, the barge was primarily used for intake and short-term detention. In 2019, it employed more than 300 staff and cost around $24 million annually to operate. It was considered one of the safer correctional facilities in the city, with relatively low rates of officer use of force.
