NYC Mayor Adams exploring abandoning current plan to shut down Rikers Island
Mayor Adams is exploring a move to abandon the current plan to close Rikers Island, and instead turn the borough-based sites intended to replace the notorious jail complex into housing, the Daily News has learned.
The mayor has asked top staffers to look into how many units of housing could be built at the sites identified for the borough-based jails in Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx, according to sources familiar with the matter.
City Hall is also looking into whether the Brooklyn site, which is currently under construction, could be turned into some kind of a mental health facility, according to sources. About half the detainees on Rikers are suffering from some form of psychiatric disability.
A move to scrap the plan to close Rikers would have numerous hurdles to clear and would likely prompt significant backlash. It would also likely force a breach of a law mandating the city shut down the jail complex by August 2027.
https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/05/02/mayor-adams-exploring-abandon-plan-shut-down-rikers-island/