New Report Recommends Better Alternative to Rikers Replacement Plan

Rather than build four borough-based jails, the city should rebuild Rikers in place

NEW YORK, NY — The Covid-19 pandemic puts the serious deficiencies of Rikers Island into sharp relief, but long before the coronavirus arrived in New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city council approved a plan to replace the complex with four new borough-based jails. In light of the budget crisis the city is now facing and critical shortcomings of the current plan, a new Manhattan Institute report by senior fellow Nicole Gelinas recommends a reevaluation. Instead of spending money it may not have on cramped jails spread out across the city, Gelinas describes how the city could reimagine Rikers, rebuilding it on the 400-acre island and taking advantage of its unique location to provide more freedom and flexibility to inmates.

As Covid-19 continues to spread, many wonder how the city can rebuild its jail facilities with an eye to both humane treatment of detainees and public health. Given the current budget crunch, the city’s $8.7 billion commitment to build four borough jails will potentially overwhelm the capital budget, crowding out other critical infrastructure priorities. Beyond budget concerns, the current plan assumes a massive reduction in the inmate population over the next several years—a feat that will be extremely difficult to accomplish without compromising public safety. Without a 42 percent reduction in inmates compared to 2019 levels, the city will either see serious overcrowding in its new facilities or ultimately be unable to close Rikers completely.

Rather than commit billions of dollars to a flawed plan, the mayor and city council should consider rebuilding Rikers as a modern jail campus, learning from other domestic and international designs to provide better safety, more outdoor space for recreation and therapy, and extra capacity to avoid overcrowding. Rebuilding Rikers could achieve significant cost savings due to the substantially simplified logistics of building in one location, while avoiding the substantial risks of the current plan, including cost overruns, missed deadlines, insufficient capacity and—most significantly—the risk of returning to Rikers’ current outdated buildings to house overflow inmates.

Click here to read the full report.