nyc's rikers island prison complex is set to close in 2027 with no replacement, meaning a future mayor mamdani will be in a position to enact his abolitionist agenda by default
Zohran Mamdani — the 33-year-old former amateur rapper, Democratic Socialist, and likely next mayor of New York City — has a lot of ideas. But the most impactful thing Mamdani might do as mayor isn’t freezing the rent or making buses free (it’s not clear the mayor can even do that stuff). Rather, Mamdani could enter Gracie Mansion and enact a long-held socialist dream: shuttering New York City’s jail system.
Under current law, New York will close the infamous Rikers Island jail complex in August of 2027. The facilities meant to replace it, everyone agrees, are unlikely to be ready by then. Yet somehow, no one seems interested in addressing the impending crisis — especially not Mamdani, a committed prison abolitionist. In fact, to free 7,669 people currently held before trial — mostly charged with crimes like murder, robbery, and rape — all Mamdani will have to do is… nothing.
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Charles Fain Lehman is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal
Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images