Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently proposed abandoning the borough-based jail plan in favor of rebuilding new facilities on Rikers Island during the Crain’s Business Mayoral Forum last Wednesday, Oct. 8. The independent mayoral hopeful called the city’s mandate to move the city jail population into four “more humane” local jails as “a continuation of the legacy of the failed de Blasio administration.”
“Let’s be clear: Rikers in its current form must be closed — it is a human rights violation: outdated, unsafe, and unacceptable — but the borough-based jail plan was unworkable from the start,” said Cuomo. “It has become a $16 billion boondoggle that will harm property values, drive away small businesses, disrupt schools, and has already divided communities, all while failing to deliver a safer, fairer justice system.”
Under city law, Rikers Island’s jails must close by summer 2027 with plans of moving the remaining population into new facilities nearby or next to four of New York City’s five municipal courthouses. However, construction of all four facilities is almost certainly delayed past the deadline.
Also enshrined in city law is the Renewable Rikers plan to transfer NYC Department of Correction (DOC) control over the island to other local agencies to develop green infrastructure. Local laws require New York City to consider repurposing Rikers Island into a renewable energy site and wastewater processing facility after the jails close. Cuomo believes the current sites can be repurposed into affordable and mixed-use housing.
“The governor believes the current facility is a human rights violation and needs to be closed and at the same time we have to face reality that the de Blasio plan has been mismanaged and bungled to the point of no return,” said Cuomo campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi. “The borough based jails haven’t been built and there’s no way they will be by the time Rikers’ current jail is by law supposed to close. Doing nothing – which is Mamdani’s plan — will result in no jail anywhere and no place to put the 7,000 people held at Rikers.”
Vera Action director Alana Sivin lambasted Cuomo’s proposal, particularly due to the former governor’s hand in signing several pivotal criminal justice reform bills like Bail Reform and Raise the Age.
“Cuomo knows better,” she said. “He rightfully has pointed out how we can’t let Kalief Browder happen again. He rightfully defended the reforms that would prevent people from dying due to incarceration at Rikers Island like bail reform [and] closing the jail complex, so it’s a real shame that he’s straying from what he knows is right in a really misguided tactic to build a base.”
Borough-based jail plan proponents argue the newer facilities cut down sizable transportation times and costs to courthouses, and would reduce jail violence and deaths caused by Rikers’ outdated infrastructure (there are instances of detainees fashioning weapons from dilapidated walls). More programming and medical services would allow those in custody, most who remain innocent until proven guilty, to prepare for re-entry and address physical and mental health conditions.
Beyond the actual conditions of Rikers Island’s existing jails, advocates believe the remote location between the Bronx and Queens prevents visitation from family, friends, and lawyers. Just one MTA bus line — the Q100, — currently services the island. Cuomo addressed these concerns by also proposing express bus service for “family members, legal aid, and community service providers.”
“It’s out of sight [and] out of mind, and that really breeds a culture of violence,” said Sivin. “It breeds a culture where people are stripped of their humanity. People are far from courthouses, far from their lawyers and families. The distance of Rikers Island makes it so the violence and the torture that happens there every day go unchecked.”
While Cuomo claims focusing construction in one location can save New York City billions, his proposal may actually be cost-prohibitive. According to the most recent report by the Lippman Commission, which the city contracts with to plan the closure, rebuilding Rikers’ jails would cost 8%–15% more than the borough-based jail plan and would require more time.
However, local opposition remains where the city is currently building the jails. Notably, Chinatown residents across the political spectrum organized against the Manhattan site for years and recently proposed to move the construction to a nearby federal facility while turning the planned lot into affordable housing for the working class Asian American community. Neighbors United Below Canal (NUBC), one of the groups leading such efforts, said the news reinforces the advocates’ calls for 100% affordable housing in Chinatown.
“Our goal is a cost-effective and humane approach that protects Chinatown and meets the needs of its residents,” said NUBC in a statement. “Since its release in April, our housing plan has garnered strong and growing support, with more than 10,000 petitions and 3,500 online signatures. We remain confident that our plan reflects the community’s priorities and provides a safe and responsible path forward. We are grateful for the community’s continued support.”
Cuomo did not respond to the Campaign to Close Rikers voter guide questionnaire, which leading proponents of the borough-based jail plan conducted. Neither did Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. However, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani promised to “comply with the law, and close Rikers,” specifically pointing to how he would reduce the existing jail population by pursuing alternatives to incarceration and increasing supportive housing.
“The city has for years paid lip service to decarceration while doing nothing to make it a reality, with a non-existent investment in actually reducing the number of people locked up,” wrote Mamdani. “We have not sufficiently invested in alternatives to incarceration, and our courts have taken that lack of investment as a cue to continue shuffling people to Rikers. Dozens of people have died as a result, and tens of thousands of lives have been disrupted.”