NYC budget: Mamdani and City Council urged to boost funding for jail alternatives to reduce Rikers Island population, prep for closure

Advocates and City Council members seeking to get the city moving on closing Rikers Island say Mayor Zohran Mamdani needs to allocate tens of millions more in the new NYC budget to make it happen sooner rather than later.

Rikers is legally mandated to close by 2027, but it’s more than likely the jail complex won’t shutter then: the four borough-based jails are currently not tracked for full completion until the early to mid 2030s.