NYC acknowledges Rikers Island closure will miss 2027 deadline amid delays

Rikers Island, the infamous New York jail opened in 1932 and once housed figures such as Mark David Chapman, Tupac Shakur and Sid Vicious, will miss the 2027 closure deadline originally promised by former Mayor Bill de Blasio. Mayor Zohran Mamdani, elected in 2026, remains committed to shutting the complex but acknowledges that new, smaller facilities are lagging behind schedule. Former jail psychiatrist Lauren Stossel, now on the city’s independent Board of Correction, described the environment as “very poor” with rampant violence.

The city’s budget for Rikers approaches US$3 billion annually, while the Vera Institute of Justice reports 48 jail deaths between 2022 and 2025. Activists and officials are calling for urgent repairs to broken cell doors, expanded educational programs, and a cut in the inmate count from over 6,500 to 4,000 through faster court proceedings and transfers.