Cuomo proposes keeping Rikers Island jail open and rebuilding the complex

By Gloria Pazmino, CNN

(CNN) — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday if elected mayor he would cancel the closure of Rikers Island – New York City’s infamous jail complex – in favor of a plan to demolish and rebuild on the existing site.

Cuomo, who is running as an independent, made the announcement before a gathering of business leaders Wednesday at the Crain’s New York Business forum in Manhattan, where he highlighted his executive experience.

“Let’s make a major start by stopping a major debacle,” Cuomo said. “The new jail construction to replace Rikers Island, the writing is on the wall, it promises to be New York City’s big ditch. It is already years late, billions over budget, and obsolete.”

Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, who is leading Cuomo in the most recent polls, supports the plan to close Rikers in favor of smaller facilities, a plan that criminal justice reform advocates have long pushed for.

“Andrew Cuomo’s proposal is to take that which is broken, that which is morally bankrupt, that which is a stain on our city, and to keep it open,” Mamdani told reporters at an unrelated press conference on Wednesday.

Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, who supports keeping Rikers open but improving it, accused Cuomo of playing politics with the jail’s future.

“New Yorkers are watching a Cuomo that is so desperate for personal redemption that he will say whatever is convenient,” Sliwa said in a statement.

Cuomo wants to turn the new borough-based facilities in the process of being built into housing. His plan, while likely controversial, could appeal to moderate voters, including those who oppose the construction of detention facilities in their neighborhoods and are focused on public safety.

Cuomo’s proposal would also provide free express buses into the island from every borough to improve accessibility. Advocates have said the jail’s island location keeps detainees isolated from their families and legal support.

In making the announcement, Cuomo leaned on his record of completing complex infrastructure projects, including building a new terminal at LaGuardia Airport and the overhaul of the Moynihan Train Hall. The proposal also allows Cuomo to counter a plan that has wide support among the city’s left-leaning lawmakers and advocates.

Rikers Island, a dilapidated detention facility which has seen waves of unrest and poor detainee conditions for decades, is slated to be closed by 2027 following reform-focused legislation passed by the City Council in 2019. The bill requires that the detention facility be replaced with the smaller borough-based facilities in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx.

In 2017, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed to close the jail complex, setting a timeline of 10 years to reduce the overall jail population in the city, which he said would allow for a “complete departure of all inmates from Rikers Island.”

The idea is that neighborhood-based jails would allow detainees to be closer to their families and legal resources, improve conditions for detainees and correction officers and do away with a dysfunctional culture that multiple jail leaders, mayoral administrations and advocates have tried and failed to improve. Twelve people reportedly have died at the facility this year alone, and a federal monitor was appointed years ago to help oversee the facility, which primarily houses pre-trial detainees.

Still, the plan to build the neighborhood facilities has run into budgetary problems and some are behind schedule.

Mayor Eric Adams, who recently decided to end his reelection bid, has also cast doubt on the city’s ability to complete the project, saying the City Council should draft a new proposal.

Supporters of the plan acknowledge the 2027 deadline is unlikely to take effect. Adding to the challenge is a jail population that has dramatically increased in recent years – the plan, as originally conceived, relied on the detainee population staying below the 5,000 mark. As of this week, the detainee population at Rikers hovered around 7,000, according to the city Department of Correction.

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