"Mr. Cuomo, who is running for mayor as an independent, announced this reversal at a Crain's Business Mayoral Forum on Wednesday morning, calling the city plan to build four borough-based "community jails" to replace Rikers Island a "$16 billion boondoggle that will harm property values." Mr. Cuomo called Rikers Island "a human rights violation" for the deteriorating condition of its facilities, but says closing it is not the practical approach."
"New York's City Council voted in 2019 to close Rikers Island and build the four "community jails" at a cost of what was initially estimated to be about $8 billion. The projected completion of these jails is now years behind schedule, and the cost has since ballooned to more than $15 billion. The new jails are slated to house roughly 4,000 inmates, while the current Rikers population tops 7,000. It's unclear where the 3,000 additional prisoners would be housed or whether the plan is to decrease the overal"
Andrew Cuomo reversed his prior stance and now opposes closing Rikers Island by 2027, calling the borough-based community jail plan a $16 billion boondoggle that will harm property values. Cuomo labels Rikers a human rights violation because of deteriorating facilities but argues full closure is impractical, proposing a phased rebuild of the existing jail while keeping it operational. He recommends converting the four proposed community jail sites into affordable housing and mixed-use development. The City Council approved closure in 2019 with an $8 billion estimate; costs and timelines have slipped and now exceed $15 billion, and the new jails would hold about 4,000 versus the current 7,000 inmates.
Read at The New York Sun
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