$152 Million to Start Turning Alcatraz Back Into a Federal Prison

We suspect most sailors sailing up the “cone of Alcatraz” to find some current relief are not imagining that Alcatraz could once again be an active federal prison, but according to the New York Times, President Trump is asking for $152 million from Congress to begin transforming Alcatraz back into a maximum-security prison. Given its current economic benefits to the local economy and the extraordinary cost to rebuild and operate it as a prison, it’s hard to imagine anyone in Congress or the Bay Area would actively support the idea. But that isn’t deterring the president from making the proposal.

Last year, when the idea was originally floated, Mayor Daniel Lurie was quoted as saying the idea was “not a serious proposal.” There are so many great San Francisco Bay infrastructure projects, like dredging, that could benefit from more federal funding. We’re also sure there are many better places where an efficient government could cost-effectively build and manage a federal prison.

According to the NYTimes, the island now receives about 1.4 million tourists a year as part of the Bay Area’s multi-billion-dollar tourism trade.

It’s hard to imagine the proposal getting serious traction, though it may distract tourists, sailors and politicians for years from far more productive endeavors. The tumultuous water and weather that surround this barren rock may be relatively calm compared to the turmoil this proposal could cause.

Editors’ Note: This story invites lots of political commentary about the current administration so we tried to keep our comments limited to the merits of the proposal. We wrote the story because the idea impacts a central feature of sailing the Bay and is clearly of interest to the sailing community. We will not be approving comments that use the opportunity to hash out well-known political views since there are endless better forums to do that. Like the prisoners on Alcatraz, we look at the Bay as an opportunity to escape.