A new watchdog report on Rikers Island exposes alarming medical and safety issues plaguing detainees at the sprawling jail complex—a headache that Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani cannot ignore.
The Board of Correction’s analysis reviews five of the 11 inmate fatalities recorded so far this year. It points to correction officers for ignoring medical emergencies, falsifying records, and allowing illicit drugs to circulate freely within the jails.
It has been over six months since federal Judge Laura Swain approved the appointment of an independent federal receiver to take control of the city’s troubled jails. However, with no handover yet in sight, Mamdani’s team may need to oversee the completion of this critical transition.
We called for a federal takeover long before Mamdani was even a mayoral candidate—and are now more eager than ever for it to happen. Nine years of a federal monitor—a team of highly paid “experts”—supervising as the city continued managing the jails only saw Rikers grow more violent. Granting an independent manager full control for at least three years is the best hope for real improvement.
Full control independent of City Hall ensures no interference from politicians or the corrections union, allowing for decisive action.
Additionally, Judge Swain should consider ordering a stay on the planned January 2027 closing date for Rikers Island. Closing the central jail without replacement facilities would likely overwhelm the few remaining jails, turning them into even worse environments.
This risk remains even if Mamdani attempts to free most of the 7,000 hard-case inmates currently housed at Rikers in line with his “decarceral” philosophy.
Frankly, the federal authorities should probably instruct the city to end its “Close Rikers” initiative entirely and focus instead on building new jail facilities on the island. This is the only rational course of action to ensure the safety of those held at Rikers and the greater New York community.
https://nypost.com/2025/11/11/opinion/nycs-jails-mess-should-prompt-the-feds-to-end-the-close-rikers-farce/