West Facility Inmate Lookup

West Facility Overview

West Facility is operated by the New York City Department of Correction at 16-06 Hazen Street in East Elmhurst. It is part of the Rikers Island jail campus that serves all New York City boroughs. A Manhattan arrest may be reflected in the DOC lookup as West Facility because New York County detainees are housed through the citywide jail system.

DOC says West Facility opened in fall 1991 and was constructed of "sprungs," rigid aluminum-framed structures covered by heavy-duty plastic fabric. The facility includes single-cell units, some part of the Communicable Disease Unit, and other cells for detainees separated from CDU populations. Those details make West Facility different from a general dormitory-only jail description and should stay tied to this facility page.

West Facility Capacity and Population

The research did not locate a published rated capacity for West Facility on the official DOC facility overview. The Board of Correction minutes reported a West Facility census of 674 people on July 17, 2024. That figure is a facility-level snapshot for the Rikers command, not a standalone New York County inmate population count. Use it as a dated census point, not a live roster total.

How to Look Up an Inmate at West Facility

Use the NYC DOC Person in Custody Lookup for West Facility. The lookup is free and public. It can return current holding location, charges, court date and court location, book and case number, jail mailing address, NYSID, release date, and bail or bond amount. It is not the right system for state prison, federal custody, immigration detention, or NYPD arrest processing before DOC custody.

1. Open the DOC Person in Custody Lookup.
2. Search by NYSID, book and case number, or first and last name.
3. Open the matching profile and confirm West Facility as the holding location.
4. Use the profile's book and case number for money, mail, bail, and FOIL follow-up.

West Facility Address and Contact

DOC's current general public contact route is the Office of Constituent and Grievance Services. Older public contact lists include a West Facility direct number, but custody verification should start with the DOC lookup because housing can change.

Visiting Someone at West Facility

West Facility follows the DOC Rikers visit system. DOC says visits are one hour, the schedule runs Wednesday through Sunday, and there are no visits on Mondays or Tuesdays. Since West Facility includes special separation and communicable-disease-related cells, visitors should confirm visit eligibility and current location before travel.

Mail, Phone, and Money at West Facility

Use the DOC lookup record for the current jail mailing address and book and case number. Packages may be mailed or brought to Rikers during allowed visiting hours at the Bail and Package Reception area, subject to DOC restrictions. For funds, NYC311 and DOC list cashier, transfer agent, mail, phone, and online channels.

Booking and Intake for West Facility Housing

West Facility is not the first stop for every New York County arrest. A person is processed by law enforcement, appears in court, and enters DOC custody only if ordered held. DOC intake covers identity, property, health screening, classification, and housing assignment. The lookup may then show West Facility as the current holding location.

When the profile lists West Facility, use the court-date field and WebCrims together. DOC can show the next court location, but NY Courts is the better source for pending future appearances. WebCrims does not show warrants, finished cases, or sealed cases, so older Manhattan criminal files may require the New York County Criminal Court or Supreme Criminal clerk.

West Facility Construction and Oversight

The "sprungs" construction and communicable-disease unit cells are the facility-specific facts to preserve for West Facility. Citywide oversight comes from the Board of Correction, which sets minimum standards and publishes reports, and from the Comptroller dashboard, which tracks population, staffing, violence indicators, deaths, and service provision.

DOC's FY2025 reporting also provides broader context for people housed at Rikers: the agency reported serious mental health diagnosis at 20.7 percent of average daily population and scheduled clinic encounters in the hundreds of thousands. Those are citywide data points, not West Facility-only measures.

West Facility also shows why New York County inmate records should be read through the whole DOC system. A person may be arrested in Manhattan, arraigned at 100 Centre Street, prosecuted by the Manhattan District Attorney, and then housed at West Facility in Queens because the jail system assigns beds citywide. The holding-location field is therefore more useful than the arrest borough when planning mail, visits, or money deposits.

If a West Facility search result disappears, check the custody boundary before assuming the record was wrong. DOC public detail text found in the research says people released more than 30 days ago will not be displayed. A person may also move to another Rikers command, Bellevue hospital custody, DOCCS state prison after sentence, BOP federal custody, or ICE detention. DOC FOIL/OpenRecords is the records path for older booking material, subject to sealed-record and privacy limits.