NYC Council Outlines Solutions City Must Advance to Close Rikers Island, Following Report by Commission Led by Former Chief Judge Lippman

 

The New York City Council released a policy brief outlining the most immediate steps that the City must advance to support the permanent closure of Rikers Island and a successful transition to a borough-based jail system. These include legislative, budget, and administrative solutions to improve access to mental healthcare, reduce recidivism, and ensure coordinated leadership that produces outcomes to reduce case delays and the inflated jail population. The brief contains actions that the Council is committed to advancing and also lays out those Mayor Adams’ administration must join in taking to close Rikers. Many of these investments and policies come from recommendations in the Independent Rikers Commission’s recently released The Blueprint to Close Rikers.

The full Council policy brief can be found here.

“The path to closing Rikers and ending the humanitarian crisis it has fostered requires leadership, urgency, and action by the Mayor’s office, the Council, and all stakeholders in the justice system,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “During this administration, the Council has lacked a committed and willing partner in City Hall to take the necessary actions to close Rikers and improve safety in our city’s jails to make the people detained, staff, and all New Yorkers safer. Following the Independent Rikers Commission’s release of its Blueprint to Close Rikers laying out the clear path forward to transition to a borough-based jail system, the Council is committed to advancing legislation, securing budgetary commitments, and advocating that the mayor’s office join us in taking actions that fulfill our responsibilities towards these shared goals. As we have consistently stated, success requires partnership and close collaboration among all stakeholders, and the mayoral administration must be willing to take concrete steps to implement this blueprint. We will continue with the important work ahead, taking meaningful steps towards finally shuttering the dysfunctional and dangerous jails on Rikers to make our city safer.”

“We have a legal and moral mandate to close Rikers Island, and neither Trump nor his puppet Eric Adams can stop this,” said Council Member Sandy Nurse, Chair of the Criminal Justice Committee. “Over the last six weeks, five people have died in city custody, adding to the already immense pain and suffering caused by our city’s carceral system. Remarkably, these deaths have not moved Mayor Adams to action, who continues to drag his feet on a clear legal obligation to scale down operations at Rikers. We can have public safety while fulfilling this, and I commend Judge Lippman, Judge Zayas, Speaker Adams, and my colleagues who continue to fight for social safety net investments, and who provide a clear path for a better and safer New York City.”

To advance the closure of Rikers, the Council will advance the following legislation:

•   Introduction 1100, sponsored by Council Member Carlina Rivera, would require the Department of Social Services (DSS) to include single adults or adult families with children where the head of household has a severe mental illness, substance use disorder, or both, is homeless or at risk of homelessness, and has had justice system involvement in the last 12 months to any eligibility parameters for any existing supportive housing program administered and wholly funded by the city.
•   Introduction 1238, sponsored by Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, would require the Department of Correction (DOC) to ensure all persons in custody with a pending criminal proceeding have the technology and support necessary to securely receive and review case evidence via a department-issued tablet or through access provided in the law library.
•   Introduction 1240, sponsored by Council Member Rita Joseph, would require the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) to establish a holistic needs assessment program to identify mental health, physical health, substance abuse, intellectual disabilities, domestic violence and abuse history, history of trauma, emotional dysregulation, and other psychosocial conditions or circumstances at the time of a person’s arrest.
•   Introduction 1242, sponsored by Council Member Sandy Nurse, would require the establishment of an Office of Coordinator for Rikers Island Closure with a full-time coordinator and dedicated staff that reports directly to the Mayor.
•   Introduction 1241, sponsored by Council Member Sandy Nurse, would require DOC to conduct a study to determine any inefficiencies in the early release program established in accordance with Article 6A of the New York State Correction Law that permits sentenced individuals to be released from jail and serve the remainder of their sentence at home, under supervision.
•   Introduction 1038, sponsored by Council Member Sandy Nurse, would require the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) to submit a master plan for the redevelopment of Rikers Island for sustainability and resiliency purposes (Renewable Rikers).
•   Resolution 371, sponsored by Council Member Crystal Hudson, would call on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign S6643A/A9115, in relation to providing money upon release for certain incarcerated individuals.

The Council will negotiate for the following investments to be made in the upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) City Budget:

•   Alternatives to Incarceration Restoration – The Council calls on the Administration to reverse cuts and restore $8.9 million in FY26 for Alternative to Incarceration programs that provide services tailored to participants, which can help reduce unnecessary incarceration and recidivism.
•   District Attorneys – In order to enable the prosecutors’ offices to fulfill their responsibilities, the Council calls on the Administration to provide the District Attorneys and Special Narcotics Prosecutor with approximately $50 million in FY26.
•   Electronic Monitoring Capacity Increase: Providing $10.6 million for 400 additional bracelets will allow for more people, who would otherwise be held in custody, to remain in their homes and communities, lowering the population and recidivism. It is a vital step towards closing Rikers Island and should only be expanded for those who otherwise would be detained pre-trial.
•   Supervised Release Intensive Case Management Pilot Expansion – The Council calls on the Administration to support the expansion of this pilot with an additional $46 million in FY26. This funding would be put towards connecting more people with SMIs and addiction issues with services to ensure they come to court and out of the criminal justice system.
•   Intensive Mobile Treatment Step-Down Program – To appropriately address the wait lists for Intensive Mobile Treatment programs and strengthen the continuum of care, the Council calls on the Administration to allocate $30 million in FY26 for the creation of a pilot step-down program for clients who have progressed in their recovery and require less-intensive services.
•   Assertive Community Treatment Step-Down Program – The Council supports the allocation of $7 million in FY26 for the creation of a step-down program for Assertive Community Treatment clients who have progressed in their recovery and require less-intensive services.
•   Justice Involved Supportive Housing – The Council calls on the Administration to allocate an additional $26.6 million to enhance Justice Involved Supportive Housing (JISH) to fulfill the City’s previous commitment to provide 500 supportive housing units for individuals leaving Rikers.
•   Residential Treatment Beds – To adequately support New Yorkers struggling with addiction and to reduce their chances of ending up in correctional facilities, the Council calls on the Administration to allocate $6.3 million in FY26 to create 250 new residential treatment beds.

The Council will also take the following administrative actions:

1.   Establish Two Full-Time Leaders: The mayoral administration must appoint two senior point people to lead the overall effort: a full-time senior staff member at City Hall and a full-time senior staff member at DOC whose sole mission is preparing the agency to transition to the borough facilities.
2.   Staff Outposted Therapeutic Hospital Units: The Administration and DOC must immediately reorganize staff as necessary to ensure the Bellevue outposted units open within the next few months, after correctional and health care staff have had the opportunity to properly train together on the new units. This is critical to reducing the number of people inappropriately held in traditional jail beds.
3.   Support Court Initiative to Reduce Case Delays and Excess Jail Population: The New York State Office of Court Administration (OCA) is undertaking comprehensive case processing reforms to significantly expedite cases, which is projected to reduce the jail population by up to 2,000 people within three-to-five years. The ability of OCA’s initiative to achieve its maximum potential depends on relevant stakeholders’ full cooperation.
4.   Expand 6-A Work Release Program: The City should carefully expand its use, with individualized release decisions, utilizing the newly re-established Local Conditional Release Commission to craft re-entry plans for this population.
5.   Reduce Planned Jail Beds for Women: The City could cut the number of planned jail beds for women in the Queens facility to approximately 250, while maintaining operational flexibility to use the excess space to house men, as needed.
6.   Invest in Strengthened Professional Development for Jail Staff: The mayoral administration should strongly support efforts to improve DOC with enhanced management, revised policies and practices, revamped recruitment and hiring, and stronger professional development and support for staff.
7.   Pursue Unutilized Methods to Expedite New Jail Construction: Lessons learned from the Brooklyn jail, which is the furthest along, can be used to mitigate risk and expedite construction for the other three borough-based jails. Construction can also likely be further sped up by using value engineering, which engages outside experts to conduct comprehensive reviews of construction, timeline, and program plans.
8.   Prohibit Deadlocking of People with Serious Mental Illness: New DOC and Correctional Health Service policies should be implemented to prohibit this practice.
9.   Establish Council-Led Working Group to Regularly Convene Stakeholders: The Council will establish a Close Rikers Working Group, consisting of members and staff, that regularly meets to ensure consistent oversight and progress on the plan to close Rikers. It will be led by the Speaker’s office, Criminal Justice Committee, and other relevant committees and staff.
10.   Welcome Local Siting of Housing and Services: Borough Presidents, Community Boards, Council Members, and New Yorkers must welcome local siting of housing and services for people with justice involvement.