Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will announce a proposal on Wednesday to scrap the plan to close the Rikers Island jail complex, saying he would rebuild the jails and not relocate detainees to new borough-based jail facilities.
Mr. Cuomo, who is running for mayor of New York City as a third-party candidate, said he would convert the four borough-based sites into affordable housing projects, and remake Rikers into a “modern, humane correctional campus.”
“We can and must do both things at once: Close Rikers as we know it, and rebuild it the right way,” Mr. Cuomo said in a statement.
The city is required by law to close the notoriously troubled jail complex by August 2027 and replace it with four borough-based facilities. Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor who beat Mr. Cuomo in the Democratic primary, supports closing the complex and creating new jails in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
The jail complex has been plagued by violence, dysfunction and death. Twelve people have died in city jails this year, including a man being held at Rikers Island who apparently suffered a seizure last month. In May, a federal judge ordered that an outside official be appointed to oversee operations on Rikers.
When the City Council voted in 2019 to close Rikers Island, it intended to have the four smaller borough-based jails be more humane and closer to detainees’ lawyers and families. Bill de Blasio, who was mayor at the time, backed the plan.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post Cuomo Calls for Rebuilding Rikers Island and Keeping the Complex Open appeared first on New York Times.
