Mamdani announces 'major step' toward closing Rikers Island jail facilities

There is an average of 10,000 inmates on Rikers Island on any given day. The island holds several facilities, including one for sentenced males, another for sentenced females, a third for adolescent males ages 16-18, and then seven others for adult males. But soon, the island could be empty.

New York City passed a law requiring that the facility be closed entirely, with a deadline of 2027. Four smaller jails will be built in boroughs, though these facilities will not be ready by the time 2027 rolls around. Additionally, the new facilities won't be able to house the number of people Rikers does, leaving thousands of detainees without a place to be incarcerated.

"We just took another major step toward finally closing Rikers Island," said Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who advocates for the abolishing of prisons. "By permanently closing a jail and transferring three properties to DCAS, we're moving closer to closing Rikers for good. Our City's resources should be invested in rehabilitation, restoration, and a smaller, more humane jail system."

Mamdani knows, however, that it will be very hard to meet the 2027 deadline, saying it's "practically impossible to fulfill, because we've seen years of a flouting of not just recommendations, but requirements, frankly. It is going to take us quite a bit of time to ensure that we can put our city back on the path."

CBS reports that the North Infirmary Command has been shuttered and that the facility, along with two others, has been moved from the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections to the Department of Citywide Administration Services. There were no residents in the facilities when their management was moved to a different agency.

However, the North Infirmary Command was recently the residence of 223 people who required hospital care, and those persons were moved to a therapeutic housing unit. Others were moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. The administration says Bellevue was "designed intentionally by color and scheme and fabric to be a more therapeutic and supportive place."

In addition to the 104 beds available at Bellevue, two other units will have to be created in order to care for the 223 who were moved.

DCAS, however, has been tasked with figuring out what to do with Rikers Island once the jail facilities are gone. Commissioner Yume Kitasei said that the plans include "renewable energy projects to other public purposes, particularly those with an environmental justice lens."