Mamdani Restarts Process to Close Rikers

Positive takes

Real Progress After Years of Stalling. Mamdani restarted a legally required closure process that sat frozen for years under the Adams administration. Transferring three facilities — including permanently shutting the 1932-era North Infirmary Command — shows the city is finally moving from promises to action.

Humane Alternatives Already Working. The closure was made possible by opening a new therapeutic housing unit at Bellevue Hospital, moving over 100 people out of Rikers into a modern medical setting. DOC Commissioner Richards, himself formerly incarcerated, says the new facilities center dignity over detention.

Building Toward a Long-Term Vision. DCAS now controls vacant Rikers buildings and will explore future uses including renewable energy and environmental justice projects. Advocates and lawmakers across the city celebrated the milestone as a sign that the Mamdani administration is serious about closing the complex for good.

Negative takes

Deadline Already Dead. The legal closure deadline of August 2027 is openly acknowledged as unattainable. The replacement borough jails won't all be finished until 2032 at the earliest, meaning Rikers could keep operating for years alongside the new facilities, costing the city billions.

Population Math Doesn't Add Up. Rikers currently holds roughly 6,700–7,000 people, but the four planned borough jails will only have about 4,000 beds combined. Critics warn that without a major reduction in the jail population, the city cannot legally or practically close Rikers — and that gap is growing, not shrinking.

Symbolic Steps, Not Structural Change. The three transferred facilities were already empty of incarcerated people. Advocates say tens of millions more in alternatives to incarceration, diversion programs, and reentry housing are needed to actually reduce the jail population — and that budget fight is far from won.