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Eugene

(61,964 posts)
Thu Oct 17, 2019, 07:24 PM Oct 2019

Plan to close notorious Rikers jail complex by 2026 approved

Source: Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City lawmakers voted Thursday to close the notorious Rikers Island jail complex, which has become synonymous with violence and neglect, and replace it with four smaller jails intended to be more modern and humane.

The City Council voted 36-13 to replace the complex with four smaller jails located closer to the city’s main courthouses in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens.

Rikers is scheduled to shutter by 2026, ending a decadeslong run as one of the world’s largest jails.

“Rikers island is a symbol of brutality and inhumanity and it is time for us to once and for all close Rikers Island,” said City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, a Democrat who shepherded the plan through the Council. “As a city we must do everything we can to move away from the failed policies of mass incarceration.”

-snip-

By KAREN MATTHEWS
17 minutes ago

Read more: https://apnews.com/6053d86faae64edbb315510e319c5a81

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Plan to close notorious Rikers jail complex by 2026 approved (Original Post) Eugene Oct 2019 OP
Damn, I was hoping the trump family would be residents. docgee Oct 2019 #1
they might be, briefly Demonaut Oct 2019 #2
Me too! BigmanPigman Oct 2019 #4
Mar-A-Gitmo won't be closing. lagomorph777 Oct 2019 #6
Let me guess. It's NYC, so ... Odoreida Oct 2019 #3
Is there a bridge to the island? Or is it only accessible by boat? JustABozoOnThisBus Oct 2019 #8
A bridge and regular city bus service. n/t Odoreida Oct 2019 #9
And why exactly should that closure take PoindexterOglethorpe Oct 2019 #5
Something just occurred to me. Odoreida Oct 2019 #7

lagomorph777

(30,613 posts)
6. Mar-A-Gitmo won't be closing.
Fri Oct 18, 2019, 10:48 AM
Oct 2019

Plenty of available shipping containers there.

Or we could incarcerate the Trump syndicate at Doral. But I think that would violate international conventions on the treatment of prisoners.

 

Odoreida

(1,549 posts)
3. Let me guess. It's NYC, so ...
Thu Oct 17, 2019, 09:15 PM
Oct 2019

... redevelop the island as condos.

Just the sort of thing Trump would do if he weren't president.

JustABozoOnThisBus

(23,369 posts)
8. Is there a bridge to the island? Or is it only accessible by boat?
Fri Oct 18, 2019, 05:10 PM
Oct 2019

A bridge and the demolition would cost a fortune. Maybe turn it into a Halloween destination. Ooh, scary!

 

Odoreida

(1,549 posts)
7. Something just occurred to me.
Fri Oct 18, 2019, 11:13 AM
Oct 2019

After all it isn't the location that makes Riker's so notorious.

What reason do we have to believe the new jails will be "nicer"?

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