United States · NY · Brooklyn
MDC Brooklyn
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
For families
How to send mail, money, and visit MDC Brooklyn
Step-by-step guidance using the United States system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.
Metropolitan Detention Center operated by the US Federal Bureau of Prisons. BOP region: Northeast Region.
Background
The Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn (MDC Brooklyn) is a United States federal administrative detention facility in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States. It holds male and female inmates of all security levels. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. As of February 2026, 1,408 people were held in MDC Brooklyn. Most people held at MDC Brooklyn have pending cases in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.
Capacity
1,700
Current population
—
Occupancy
—
Year opened
1994
Operational
Facility profile
Operator
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Population held
mixed
Opened
1994
Region
NY
Security level
Administrative
Death-row facility
No
Conditions
BOP-operated facility; conditions reports issued by the DOJ Office of Inspector General on a multi-year cycle.
Visiting
Visit days and hours vary by facility. Visitors must be on the inmate's approved visitor list (form BP-A0629). Pre-screen via VINELink + the facility's visiting page.
Mailing
Inmate Name & Register #, MDC Brooklyn, 80 29TH STREET, Brooklyn, NY 11232. Cash and metal staples not accepted; CorrLinks (TRULINCS) for email if subscribed.
Practical info
Inmate funds via Western Union QuickCollect to the BOP Trust Fund (receiver: inmate name, prisoner ID, BOP Trust Fund). Email service via CorrLinks where the inmate has subscribed.
Known issues
Repeated DOJ OIG findings on infrastructure failures (heating outage 2019; electrical fire 2022). Conditions cited by federal judges in sentence-reduction motions.
Notable inmates
Ghislaine Maxwell (2020-2022), Mary Trump (briefly), Sam Bankman-Fried (2023-2024), El Chapo (briefly).
Contact & address
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
- Overcrowding
- 0/30
- Oversight reports
- 6/30
- Structural flags
- 5/15
- Death signals
- 0/15
- Conditions text
- 0/10
What the score is responding to:
- · 1 oversight report in the last 5 years
- · Substantial documented known-issues record
Compared to other facilities in United States
3134 peersHigher risk than 89% of peer facilities in United States.
Reports
- Federal court (EDNY)15 Sept 2023
Judge Margo Brodie cited 'inhuman' conditions in granting a downward sentencing variance — the latest of dozens of similar opinions citing MDC Brooklyn.
Data completeness
94%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- BOP facility page
- BOP locations API
- Federal Bureau of Prisons — Locations — US Department of Justice
- US Federal Bureau of Prisons — locations directory — US Department of Justice
- Wikipedia — Wikimedia Foundation
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.