Cuomo Says He Would Scrap Rikers Island Closure Plan, Rebuild Complex Instead

NEW YORK CITY — Ex-governor and independent mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday that he wants to rebuild Rikers Island and scrap plans to close the infamous jail complex.

Cuomo made the comments during a Crain's New York Business mayoral forum. His proposal was first reported by the New York Times.

The ex-governor called for the city to "rebuild new state-of-the-art jails on Rikers Island."

In addition, Cuomo said he would convert the sites of four new jails in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx into affordable housing projects.

"We need housing," he told reporters. "You have four massive, clear sites that have all sorts of potential. So let's start talking about what we can put there, and then design the new jails for Rikers Island."

Cuomo also proposed free express bus service to and from the revamped Rikers Island complex if it was built.

The city is required by law to close Rikers Island by August 2027 and replace it with four borough-based jails. The City Council voted in 2019 to close the jail complex.

Twelve people have died in Rikers this year.

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral candidate, has said he supports closing Rikers and building the four borough-based jails.

Curtis Sliwa has previously said he opposes building four borough-based jails.

Construction costs on the new jails has risen to $15.5 billion from an estimated $8.7 billion, according to a Times report.