In 2015, City Limits published the most comprehensive look to date at the political and policy dimensions of closing Rikers Island. Read those stories and our continuing coverage below.
The city’s plan to close Rikers by 2027 is “not a perfect plan, but it’s the best plan thus far. And to do the bold and necessary thing—to see this plan through to completion—will take moral courage and political leadership.”
‘Jail separates people from work and family, jeopardizes stable housing, and subjects them to violence, especially in inhumane environments like Rikers. Incarceration must be the option of last resort, used only when it is essential for public safety.’
Although the city is set to appeal, members of Neighbors United Below Canal said they believe the final victory belongs to the community.
A look at City Limits’ coverage is far from a comprehensive rendering of the Rikers saga. But it does provide a sense of how long this argument has been going on, of the twists and turns it has taken, and of the many passionate viewpoints New Yorkers have about it.
‘This is the right time for the city to also make a bold commitment to support people with serious and persistent mental and behavioral health needs, in ways that will prevent contact (or further contact) with law enforcement at every possible juncture.’
‘The plan that is in progress right now is the right plan, it’s one that is viable, it’s moving.’
‘I’m reminded the cells on Rikers are so hot — that the walls sweat. There was no air. I had to lay on the floor naked, to suck a little bit of air from a slit on the floor, just to breathe.’
The division between people who support the de Blasio administration plan to site a new jail in the Bronx to facilitate the closing of Rikers and those who don’t is about a lot more than the location.
‘An impartial and fair assessment of this process can lead to only one conclusion: Closing Rikers will lead to a more just New York.’
While many Bronx politicians oppose the specific site the mayor has targeted for a new facility to partly replace Rikers Island, a vocal coalition of protesters is calling for an end to jails and policing as we know it.
Not so fast. With Raise the Age going into effect this week, the city’s 16- and 17-year-olds in custody are just moving from one jail to another.
‘We must recognize that the culture of violence exists on Rikers Island – and will continue to exist in the new borough facilities that will be built – if concrete measures aren’t taken to directly address and effectively reduce the violence that exists currently.’
In the wake of a state budget that whiffed on criminal justice reform, Gov. Cuomo has continued to chide Mayor de Blasio for sticking to a 10-year timeline for closing Rikers Island that the governor believes is too slow.
Also: Marking the anniversary of Malcolm X’s death.
While there’s a lot of discussion about where new jails might go, the heavier lift might be figuring out how to release enough violent-felony defendants to allow the city to move detainees off the island.
A writer currently incarcerated on the island writes that re-establishing similarly flawed facilities elsewhere will displace the problems on Rikers, but won’t dispense with them.
Whether the timeline is three years or 10, a former Correction captain lays out the issues facing policymakers, officers and inmates.
Albanese described a plan that revolved around thinning out the population on the island and then closing the facilities there that displayed the worst conditions.
There will be questions about this topic during the mayoral race. The bigger questions will be answered down the line.
The biggest reason for the doubts about de Blasio’s devotion to closing Rikers is that doing so will require tough decisions in a policy area where this mayor faces unusually high expectations and especially acute risks.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
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Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
