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New York's notorious Rikers jail awaits elusive closure
Mayor Zohran Mamdani says the city will miss the 2027 target as smaller replacement jails lag behind schedule.
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged the city will not meet the 2027 deadline to close Rikers Island as construction of replacement facilities lags behind schedule.
- Insha Rahman, president of The Vera Institute, attributed delays to the Covid-19 pandemic and the administration of former mayor Eric Adams. Former mayor Bill de Blasio originally pledged the closure to address staff shortages.
- Lauren Stossel, a former psychiatrist who sits on the Board of Correction, described conditions at the East River jail as "very poor" with "rampant" violence. The Vera Institute reported the facility costs nearly $3 billion annually.
- Activists and city officials are demanding basic repairs to broken cell doors and improved social programs. Darren Mack, co-founder of the Freedom Agenda, emphasized the "human cost and the financial cost" while calling for population reduction from over 6,500 to 4,000.
- Dana Kaplan, who oversees the Mayor's efforts, remains "hopeful" the closure represents a "transformational vision" of the pretrial justice system rather than merely replacing one set of buildings with another.
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9 Articles
9 Articles
New York will not keep its promise to close the infamous Rikers Island prison in time.
·Montreal, Canada
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The American city of New York faces increasing difficulties in fulfilling its commitment to close down the prison of Rikers Island, one of the most famous prison complexes in the United States, by Gusht 2027, in the United States of America.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources9
Leaning Left1Leaning Right2Center5Last UpdatedBias Distribution62% Center
Bias Distribution
- 62% of the sources are Center
62% Center
13%
C 62%
R 25%
Factuality
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