NYC's Jail Boat To Close, Inmates Headed To Rikers: Report

QUEENS, NY — New York City's notorious floating jail is set to close, but its inmates' next stop isn't any better, according to reports.

Roughly 500 people in custody on the Vernon C. Bain Center will be moved to Rikers Island when the jail barge known as "The Boat" closes in October, Gothamist first reported.

Advocates who've long pressed for reforms to the city's jails gave a mixed reaction.

"The Boat, like Rikers Island, should have closed a long time ago," said Lezandre Khadu, a member of the Campaign to Close Rikers, in a statement.

"However, transferring people from the Boat to Rikers is not the solution. It's equivalent to jumping from the frying pan and into the fire."

Khadu's son Stephan Khadu died in 2021 after contracting meningitis while detained on the Vernon C. Bain Center, advocates said.

The five-story floating barge opened in 1992 off The Bronx's shore. Its closure fits into wider plans to shutter Rikers Island and move detainees to new local jails across the boroughs.

But that plan to close Rikers by 2027 recently was criticized by Mayor Eric Adams, who last week floated the idea of reaching another plan with the City Council.

Doing so would be a controversial prospect, and one that could unfold amid a potential federal takeover of Rikers Island.