Joint Statement from Speaker Adrienne Adams and Criminal Justice Chair Sandy Nurse on the Three-Year Deadline to Close Rikers

"Tomorrow marks three years to the day that New York City is required to close Rikers Island and transition to a safer, more effective borough-based system. Closing Rikers is essential to ending the humanitarian crisis and brutal violence that has impacted detainees and staff, and it's the law.

"With the deadline approaching, it remains critical for all stakeholders, including Mayor Adams' Administration, to do everything in their power to advance closure. The City must invest in mental health care, pretrial programming, re-entry solutions, and other interventions that reduce recidivism and unnecessarily lengthy stays that only inflate the jail population. Achieving the successful closure of Rikers requires collaboration among all stakeholders involved in the justice system. The Council is committed to advancing progress, because we must act with urgency to make our city safer and finally close the chapter of this stain on our city's history."

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