MDC Brooklyn Federal Overview
Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn is the major detention facility in this Kings County facility set that is physically located in Brooklyn. The official BOP MDC Brooklyn page identifies the facility as a federal Bureau of Prisons institution at 80 29th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232. It is an administrative security federal detention center, not a city jail, not a Rikers Island facility, and not a New York State DOCCS prison.
That status controls every public-record task. A person held at MDC Brooklyn may be a federal pretrial detainee, a holdover prisoner, or a sentenced federal prisoner in short-term or administrative BOP custody. Federal court and U.S. Marshals processes often shape the record. The DOC Person in Custody Lookup will not list someone merely because the federal facility sits in Brooklyn. Use BOP for the custody locator and federal court sources for case records.
The BOP facility page reports population dynamically, and no public rated capacity was located in the official BOP text reviewed for MDC Brooklyn. Do not treat citywide DOC population counts as MDC counts. For live population, status, and facility operations, check BOP directly. For the broader Kings County jail population, city detainees are counted in NYC DOC, while federal detainees at MDC Brooklyn are counted under federal custody.
The BOP facility page is the best official page for location, phone, email, fax, directions, and public notices. The captured source image below comes from that same BOP facility page.
The BOP MDC Brooklyn facility page shows the federal contact and institution information that should be checked before visiting or sending mail.
Use that facility page for institution-specific notices, then use the inmate locator for the person's custody record.
MDC Brooklyn Inmate Lookup
The BOP inmate locator is the correct search tool for MDC Brooklyn. The federal locator covers people incarcerated by the Bureau of Prisons from 1982 to the present. BOP also warns that release dates may change because sentences are reviewed and recalculated under the First Step Act. Treat a release date as a federal custody estimate unless confirmed by BOP, counsel, or the court.
| Field label | Type | Use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Name | Text | Optional | Use with last name when the register number is not known. |
| Middle Name | Text | Optional | Can narrow common-name results. |
| Last Name | Text | Typical anchor | The main name-search field. |
| Race | Option | Optional | BOP lists race options on the name-search form. |
| Sex | Option | Optional | Used to narrow results. |
| Age | Number | Optional | Helpful when names are common. |
- Open the BOP inmate locator.
- Use number search if the federal register number or another BOP identifier is known.
- Use the BOP name-search form when only name details are available.
- Check whether the result lists MDC Brooklyn as the current location.
- Confirm release date and movement details because federal dates can change after recalculation, transfer, or court action.
The BOP name-search screen is useful when no register number is available and the search must start from personal details.
The form does not provide federal mugshots. It is a custody-location tool, not a booking-photo gallery.
MDC Brooklyn Contact Details
MDC Brooklyn has its own federal contact channels. Use them for facility questions after confirming the person is in BOP custody. Do not call NYC DOC for federal housing, federal commissary, BOP visitation, or BOP mail rules. DOC can only answer city jail custody questions. BOP and federal court channels control MDC Brooklyn records.
Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn
80 29th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11232
718-840-4200
Email: BRO-ExecAssistant-S@bop.gov
Fax: 718-840-5005
The physical address is not the inmate-mail format. BOP publishes a separate mailing format using a post office box. Use the mailing table before sending letters, money instructions, or legal mail, and verify the current BOP page if the person has recently transferred.
MDC Brooklyn Visitation
MDC Brooklyn visits follow federal BOP rules and institution notices. A fixed MDC Brooklyn visiting timetable was not captured in the official source material, so confirm with the BOP facility page or the institution before travel. Federal detention centers can alter visits for security status, lockdowns, staffing, weather, court movement, medical quarantine, construction, or other operational reasons.
| Visit issue | MDC Brooklyn rule source | Action before travel |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule | BOP institution page and current facility notices. | Confirm date, time, and housing-unit eligibility. |
| Approval | BOP visitation process and inmate visiting list. | Confirm that the visitor is approved when approval is required. |
| Identification | Federal institution entry rules. | Bring valid government identification. |
| Legal visits | BOP attorney and institution procedures. | Coordinate with the facility and counsel before arrival. |
| City jail visits | Not applicable. | Do not use DOC Rikers visit windows for MDC Brooklyn. |
Note: Confirm BOP visitation with MDC Brooklyn before travel because federal facility status can change without matching city jail schedules.
MDC Brooklyn Mail and Money
BOP mail rules differ from DOC mail rules. The official MDC Brooklyn page gives the inmate mailing format for people held there. A letter should identify the person by name and federal register number. Mail that uses only the street address or a city jail book and case number may be delayed or rejected because BOP custody uses federal identifiers.
| Service | Correct federal channel | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| Inmate mail | INMATE NAME & REGISTER NUMBER, MDC Brooklyn, Metropolitan Detention Center, P.O. Box 329002, Brooklyn, NY 11232 | Use the register number from the BOP locator. |
| Physical facility | 80 29th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232 | Use for institution location, not ordinary inmate mail. |
| Money and commissary | BOP inmate deposit and commissary rules. | Use BOP guidance, not DOC JPay or Western Union city jail instructions. |
| Phone | BOP inmate phone procedures. | Federal calls and approvals differ from NYC DOC custody. |
| Legal mail | BOP legal-mail rules and attorney procedures. | Follow BOP markings and current institution directions. |
MDC Brooklyn Records Channels
Federal records for MDC Brooklyn do not flow through NYC OpenRecords or DOC FOIL. A custody-location search starts with BOP. Federal criminal case information is usually tied to federal court records and attorney channels. If the person is in U.S. Marshals custody before or during court movement, the Marshals may be part of the custody chain, but BOP controls the public locator for BOP-held inmates.
Federal booking photos are not published through the BOP inmate locator. The locator is built around identity, register number, age, race, sex, release date, and facility location. A missing mugshot does not mean there is no federal custody record. For booking photos or investigative material, use federal FOIA, court records, counsel, or the agency that created the record, subject to exemptions and privacy limits.
| Record need | Where to start | Do not use |
|---|---|---|
| Current federal custody location | BOP inmate locator. | NYC DOC Person in Custody Lookup. |
| Federal case status | Federal court records or counsel. | Kings County Criminal Court roster alone. |
| City jail custody | DOC lookup for NYC custody only. | BOP locator unless federal custody exists. |
| Immigration detention | ICE Online Detainee Locator. | BOP if ICE alone holds the person. |
| Federal mugshot | FOIA or agency-specific records route. | Commercial mugshot sites or BOP public profiles. |
MDC Brooklyn Versus City Jail
MDC Brooklyn creates a common Kings County search problem. It is in Brooklyn, but it is not part of the Brooklyn local jail path. A person arrested by NYPD on a local case and remanded after arraignment is usually searched through NYC DOC. A person charged federally, held for federal court, or committed to BOP custody is searched through BOP. Physical geography does not decide the locator. Custody authority does.
The distinction also affects visits, mail, money, records, and release dates. DOC uses book and case numbers, NYSID, city jail mailing data, DOC family visit rules, and city jail money channels. BOP uses register numbers, federal facility rules, federal mail formatting, and BOP release-date calculations. If a Brooklyn family is unsure which system applies, search DOC and BOP separately, then check court or attorney information for whether the matter is local, state, federal, or immigration-related.
For city custody after a Kings County arrest, the Kings County jail inmate records page explains the DOC lookup and local roster fields. For MDC Brooklyn, stay with BOP and federal records until another agency confirms a transfer.
- BOP
- The Federal Bureau of Prisons, the agency operating MDC Brooklyn and the federal inmate locator.
- Register number
- A federal custody identifier used for BOP search, mail, and many inmate services.
- Administrative facility
- A federal institution type used for detention, holdovers, special custody, and mixed operational needs.
- Release-date recalculation
- A change to projected federal release date after sentence review, credits, court action, or BOP processing.