Weekday construction for the Manhattan borough-based jail will extend to midnight as pressure mounts for the city to finish four new detention facilities to replace Rikers Island and ensure its legally-mandated closure, according to an upcoming announcement. An NYC Department of Buildings permit now allows builders to continue working on the project located on 124-125 White St. past 6 p.m. and until 12 a.m., although the noisiest work will stop by 10 p.m.
The city expects the polarizing Chinatown-based facility to open in early 2032, which falls nearly five years after the legally-set deadline to close Rikers Island by next summer. Close Rikers czar Dana Kaplan told the Amsterdam News the additional hours are required to prevent further delays.
“This is part of our broader commitment to close Rikers Island on the fastest timeline possible,” she said. “It is a legal requirement for the city but it’s also a moral imperative for us that we move ahead with the closure as quickly as we can and bring on-line this borough-based jail system that will have significantly improved conditions for people in custody and the staff who work there everyday. Beginning the after-hours work allows us to be on the fastest timeline possible towards completion.”
Beyond the after-hours construction, start time remains at 7 a.m. on the weekdays and adds Saturday work between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The city also pointed to noise-mitigating measures like sound blankets, equipment mufflers, and temporary sound barriers. The Brooklyn borough-based jail is also under after-hours construction.
Rikers Island is where the majority of the city’s jails are and overwhelmingly hold people on pretrial detention who remain “innocent until proven guilty.” Most people in custody are also Black or Brown. Proponents vow the new jails will provide significantly more humane conditions and allow for faster transport to court hearings, with most adjacent to a corresponding municipal courthouse.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani inherited the Rikers closure plan from the de Blasio administration and setbacks from the previous Adams administration. From one side, he faces opposition from local Chinatown advocates who have protested the jail for more than half a decade. Meanwhile, criminal justice reform advocates fear the city is severely off track from the Rikers closure plan and regularly raise concerns with low-level enforcement outpacing releases, as the four facilities combined are scheduled to hold just more than 4,000 beds (Rikers regularly hovers around 6,000 people in custody).
Kaplan, who worked on the plan under de Blasio, joined the Mamdani administration as a foremost expert on the issue and to identify how the city could get back on track as all four jails are scheduled to open after 2027. For years, she served on the Independent Rikers Commission and called on the Adams administration to implement measures to speed up construction and safely reduce the incarcerated population on Rikers Island.
In April, Documented reported how the city initially paused after-hours construction plans. The Mamdani administration mentioned ongoing conversations with the local Chinatown community, which frequently staged protests against the new jail.
Opponents of the jail range from frustrated residents and local business owners to abolitionist activists and critics of the multi-billion dollar price tag. Some say keep Rikers open. Others want the city to move the jail to a nearby site, where an empty federal detention center sits. And from the left, some organizers want the city to close Rikers without opening any replacement facilities.
But the Mamdani administration maintains it will “comply with law” in regards to the borough-based jail plan, which most criminal justice reform organizations around the city support. According to Kaplan, the city will address environmental concerns when rolling out after-hours construction. “They’re concerned and we are putting in place a comprehensive plan to address them,” she said. “Our focus is being able to address the neighborhood’s concerns while remaining focused on closing Rikers Island as quickly as possible.”
