Rikers Island, a jail complex built on land owned by a notorious New York judge involved in the slave trade, has for almost a century been a stain on the humanity of New York City. While the number of people held on the island has fluctuated—from a high of more than 20,000 people in the early 1990s to below 5,500 in 2020—it has always been a warehouse of human suffering and misery.
In 2016, the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform began to study the problems of Rikers Island and make recommendations for change. GJNY played a key role on the commission as a research and thought partner to the organizations on the frontlines. After a year of careful inquiry, the commission’s recommendation was unequivocal: “Rikers Island is a stain on our great City. We have proven that more jail does not equal greater public safety. We must close the jail complex on Rikers Island. Period.”
In a historic 2019 vote, the City Council approved construction of four new jails by 2026 to replace the decrepit, decaying facilities that currently exist in the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan—a significant first step in the decades-long battle to close Rikers Island. The council also approved a cap of 3,300 jail beds citywide and a legal mandate ensuring that no jails will exist on Rikers after 2026, along with significant investments in community-based services and alternatives to incarceration. The vote marked a turning point.
The hard work to close Rikers Island, however, is not over. A new political, legal, and economic landscape presents new challenges to the city’s closure plan. Within a year of the council vote, legal challenges to borough-based jail construction arose. The COVID-19 pandemic then created a $9 billion city revenue shortfall. And in 2021, a newly elected mayor, Manhattan DA, and much of the city council will inherit a closure plan to which they did not commit.
In collaboration with city leaders, experts, and advocates, GJNY continues to integrate research, budget analysis, and advocacy to move the needle forward. By analyzing corrections budgets and following incarceration trends, we are identifying fiscally, politically, and ethically responsive policy recommendations that capitalize on our city’s vision for a smaller, safer, and more humane jail system while investing in the resources and programs that help neighborhoods thrive unencumbered by the legacy of mass incarceration.