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| Mayor Said to Back Plan to Close Rikers and Open Jails Elsewhere | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Mayor Bill de Blasio has agreed on the contours of a plan to eventually close New York City’s troubled jail complex on Rikers Island, telling those working on the issue that his position had changed, according to four people briefed on the mayor’s thinking. | Mayor Bill de Blasio has agreed on the contours of a plan to eventually close New York City’s troubled jail complex on Rikers Island, telling those working on the issue that his position had changed, according to four people briefed on the mayor’s thinking. |
| The details of his plan were not immediately clear, though they were expected to hew closely to recommendations in the 97-page report by an independent commission, led by Judge Jonathan Lippman and created by the City Council last year to study the issue. | The details of his plan were not immediately clear, though they were expected to hew closely to recommendations in the 97-page report by an independent commission, led by Judge Jonathan Lippman and created by the City Council last year to study the issue. |
| The commission’s top recommendation, according to a draft of the report reviewed by The New York Times, is to move inmates off Rikers Island and into a system of smaller, borough-based jails, at a cost of $10.6 billion. | The commission’s top recommendation, according to a draft of the report reviewed by The New York Times, is to move inmates off Rikers Island and into a system of smaller, borough-based jails, at a cost of $10.6 billion. |
| “The commission believes that the use of Rikers Island must be phased out over the next 10 years and its facilities demolished,” the report recommends. | “The commission believes that the use of Rikers Island must be phased out over the next 10 years and its facilities demolished,” the report recommends. |
| The jails there would be replaced with new jails built in each of the five boroughs that “would vary in size, on the expected population in each borough.” There would be 5,500 beds across the borough jails, under the commission’s plan, with the largest in Manhattan and the smallest on Staten Island. | The jails there would be replaced with new jails built in each of the five boroughs that “would vary in size, on the expected population in each borough.” There would be 5,500 beds across the borough jails, under the commission’s plan, with the largest in Manhattan and the smallest on Staten Island. |
| Mr. Lippman and the speaker of the City Council, Melissa Mark-Viverito, were expected to announce the findings of the report on Sunday at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. The mayor had been expected to join them, but despite a meeting late on Thursday at City Hall, those plans remained fluid, according to one person briefed on the discussion. | Mr. Lippman and the speaker of the City Council, Melissa Mark-Viverito, were expected to announce the findings of the report on Sunday at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. The mayor had been expected to join them, but despite a meeting late on Thursday at City Hall, those plans remained fluid, according to one person briefed on the discussion. |
| Mr. de Blasio had said last year that closing the city’s troubled jail complex on Rikers Island is a “noble idea,” but doing so could cost billions of dollars and take years to shutter. The needs on the island were immediate, he argued, so he had refused to publicly back the idea. | Mr. de Blasio had said last year that closing the city’s troubled jail complex on Rikers Island is a “noble idea,” but doing so could cost billions of dollars and take years to shutter. The needs on the island were immediate, he argued, so he had refused to publicly back the idea. |
| But earlier on Thursday, Mr. Lippman called commission members, who include criminal justice and prison reform advocates as well as real estate and business leaders, to tell them that Mr. de Blasio has shifted his position and would announce his backing for a closure plan, possibly this week. | But earlier on Thursday, Mr. Lippman called commission members, who include criminal justice and prison reform advocates as well as real estate and business leaders, to tell them that Mr. de Blasio has shifted his position and would announce his backing for a closure plan, possibly this week. |
| “I was delighted of course,” said Herbert Sturz, a former deputy mayor for criminal justice in the Koch administration, and one of 27 members of the commission, who said he heard from Mr. Lippman on Thursday. “I’ve been working on this for years.” | “I was delighted of course,” said Herbert Sturz, a former deputy mayor for criminal justice in the Koch administration, and one of 27 members of the commission, who said he heard from Mr. Lippman on Thursday. “I’ve been working on this for years.” |
| The apparent about-face by Mr. de Blasio, who is up for re-election this year, comes amid public pressure on the issue from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and at a time when the mayor has been hounded by prison reform advocates at his events, including at town halls around the city and outside a fund-raiser in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | |
| Mr. de Blasio, under supervision by a federal monitor, has made reforms on Rikers Island, including more training for officers, new procedures on the use of force, and less use of solitary confinement. | Mr. de Blasio, under supervision by a federal monitor, has made reforms on Rikers Island, including more training for officers, new procedures on the use of force, and less use of solitary confinement. |
| But the idea of closing the aging jails on the island, between Queens and the Bronx and accessible by a single bridge, has gained traction among criminal justice reformers as a move that accomplishes several goals at once. | |
| Doing so would allow for safer, more modern jails that could more easily to provide services to inmates and better conditions for guards. Placing them in the boroughs would reduce travel time to court appearances, speeding the process and saving city money, and allow for easier visitation for family members of those in the jail system. And closure would provide a firm break from the history of brutal violence on Rikers Island by inmates and, particularly, by correction officers that resulted in the 2015 federal court settlement. | |
| But it was the commission, Mr. Sturz said, that “created the leverage” to move the mayor to support its eventual closure. “It’s good for the quality of justice in this city and beyond,” he said. “Rikers after all these years can change.” | But it was the commission, Mr. Sturz said, that “created the leverage” to move the mayor to support its eventual closure. “It’s good for the quality of justice in this city and beyond,” he said. “Rikers after all these years can change.” |
| Even so, there appeared to be sticking points between the commission’s plan and City Hall, including whether a new jail on Rikers Island would need to be constructed in the interim, as the borough jails are built. Neither Ms. Mark-Viverito, nor the commission, has backed new jails on the island. | Even so, there appeared to be sticking points between the commission’s plan and City Hall, including whether a new jail on Rikers Island would need to be constructed in the interim, as the borough jails are built. Neither Ms. Mark-Viverito, nor the commission, has backed new jails on the island. |
| A spokeswoman for Ms. Mark-Viverito declined to comment, as did Mr. Lippman. | |
| Eric F. Phillips, the mayor’s press secretary, said Mr. de Blasio has “always been publicly and privately supportive of the goal behind the closure movement.” He added: “It’s no secret that City Hall has been working diligently behind the scenes for some time to test whether closing the facility at some point in the future is feasible. We expect to share results of the mayor’s focus on these significant challenges very soon.” | |
| The politics of closing Rikers Island have been well-known since before Ms. Mark-Viverito laid out her "dream” of a city without the jail complex during her State of the City address last year. Siting new jails would require support from local elected leaders and would be certain to face opposition. The mayor is already having to navigate similar issues as his administration embarks on a five-year plan to create 90 new homeless shelters around the city. | The politics of closing Rikers Island have been well-known since before Ms. Mark-Viverito laid out her "dream” of a city without the jail complex during her State of the City address last year. Siting new jails would require support from local elected leaders and would be certain to face opposition. The mayor is already having to navigate similar issues as his administration embarks on a five-year plan to create 90 new homeless shelters around the city. |
| The city already has other jails besides Rikers Island: in Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn, as well as on a floating barge off the Bronx in the East River, but those facilities total only about 2,400 beds. | The city already has other jails besides Rikers Island: in Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn, as well as on a floating barge off the Bronx in the East River, but those facilities total only about 2,400 beds. |
| The population of the city’s jail system is declining, Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference on a new inmate re-entry program this week that acted as a kind of under-the-radar preview of his thinking, but the average still hovers between 9,000 and 10,000. | The population of the city’s jail system is declining, Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference on a new inmate re-entry program this week that acted as a kind of under-the-radar preview of his thinking, but the average still hovers between 9,000 and 10,000. |
| But before any new jails can be built, the population of Rikers must be brought down significantly. That will require reforms up and down the criminal justice system, from the time of arrest to the time that a sentenced inmate is released from city custody. | But before any new jails can be built, the population of Rikers must be brought down significantly. That will require reforms up and down the criminal justice system, from the time of arrest to the time that a sentenced inmate is released from city custody. |
| The report outlines a series of steps, including holding fewer people on bail; expanding diversion programs for drug offenders and those with mental illness; and changing state law to treat some low-level offenses — like fare-beating, marijuana possession in public view, prostitution and possession of so-called gravity knives — as civil rather than criminal matters. The court system, which Mr. Lippman once oversaw as the chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, would need to adopt changes to speed up cases and trials. | The report outlines a series of steps, including holding fewer people on bail; expanding diversion programs for drug offenders and those with mental illness; and changing state law to treat some low-level offenses — like fare-beating, marijuana possession in public view, prostitution and possession of so-called gravity knives — as civil rather than criminal matters. The court system, which Mr. Lippman once oversaw as the chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, would need to adopt changes to speed up cases and trials. |
| The commission also calls for reducing the uniformed staff at the Department of Correction by more than half, to 3,700 from about 10,000 now, resulting in about $1.4 billion in annual savings, according to the report. | The commission also calls for reducing the uniformed staff at the Department of Correction by more than half, to 3,700 from about 10,000 now, resulting in about $1.4 billion in annual savings, according to the report. |
| “Closing Rikers Island also provides a unique opportunity to redevelop the island,” the report observes, with the most promising future uses of the island being an extension of La Guardia Airport to create a third runway, or a hub of critical city infrastructure such as water and waste treatment centers, research facilities and a public greenway. | “Closing Rikers Island also provides a unique opportunity to redevelop the island,” the report observes, with the most promising future uses of the island being an extension of La Guardia Airport to create a third runway, or a hub of critical city infrastructure such as water and waste treatment centers, research facilities and a public greenway. |
| Despite the city’s search for new places to build affordable housing, doing so on the 413-acre island would be infeasible, the commission found, because of height restrictions and noise from the airport that would dissuade private investment. Housing on the island would also require “massive investments” in transit, the report found. | Despite the city’s search for new places to build affordable housing, doing so on the 413-acre island would be infeasible, the commission found, because of height restrictions and noise from the airport that would dissuade private investment. Housing on the island would also require “massive investments” in transit, the report found. |
| The island will also likely need a new name, one not synonymous with violence and brutal jail conditions, the report observes, without offering any suggestions. | The island will also likely need a new name, one not synonymous with violence and brutal jail conditions, the report observes, without offering any suggestions. |