New York

Agreement Reached to Replace Rikers Island with Borough-Based Jails

What to Know

  • New York City will move forward with the closing of Rikers Island and create a borough-based jail system, which will include new facilities
  • City officials identified four sites to hold new, modified or renovated facilities in Manhattan, Queens, The Bronx and Brooklyn
  • The sites will provide off-Island space for 5,000 detainees

New York City officials announced Wednesday an agreement to move forward with the closing of Rikers Island and create a borough-based jail system, which will include new facilities.

City officials identified four sites to hold new, modified or renovated facilities: Manhattan Detention Center, Brooklyn Detention Center, Queens Detention Center and the NYPD Tow Pound in The Bronx.

The sites will provide off-Island space for 5,000 detainees, and will include three existing Department of Correction facilities in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, as well as a new site in the Mott Haven section of The Bronx that was formerly used by the NYPD.

“This agreement marks a huge step forward on our path to closing Rikers Island. In partnership with the City Council, we can now move ahead with creating a borough-based jail system that’s smaller, safer and fairer,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.

These sites will need to go through a public review process, which includes hearings and recommendations by the local community board, borough president, the City Council and the City Planning Commission.

The news comes the same day as the State Commission of Correction delivered a report to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state legislatures naming the five worst jails in New York. Rikers Island was among the facilities named in the study.

Last year, de Blasio unveiled a $30 million plan to close Rikers Island. The mayor announced last month that one of the nine jails on the island will close this summer.

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