In an effort to close Rikers Island, the city opened an outpost health center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue so it can treat incarcerated New Yorkers away from the troubled jail complex.
The 104-bed unit will serve people in custody with complex medical needs by transferring the most clinically vulnerable detainees from Rikers Island into a therapeutic setting with closer access to specialty care. An Outposted Therapeutic Housing Unit will open at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull by the end of 2029, according to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The Bellevue site, which was completed in 2025 but sat empty for 15 months, represents a shift in how the city delivers care to incarcerated people, moving away from a system defined by delays towards one rooted in dignity, access and prevention, city officials said.
"The facilities at Rikers have long languished in disrepair, creating the conditions for violence and putting those with health conditions at serious risk," Mamdani said at a press conference. "For decades, our city's approach to mental health has leaned heavily on criminalization. For many in the throes of crisis, Rikers has been their holding cell. As such, it has become a de facto mental health facility, now standing as the second largest in the country, forcing staff and corrections officers to shoulder a burden they were never supposed to bear."
The Manhattan site will serve patients with serious conditions such as cancer and congestive heart failure who do not require hospitalization but face heightened risks in a traditional jail setting. The unit will provide direct access to a full range of specialty services, including oncology, cardiology and neurology. Correctional Health Services clinicians will deliver care on-site, with enhanced monitoring and support in a therapeutic environment designed to improve health outcomes.
The Brooklyn site will serve detainees with significant mental health needs.
CHS will remain the primary provider of clinical care, working in close coordination with specialists. The NYC Department of Correction will provide security, custody management, programming and other services.
“The opening of the Outposted Therapeutic Housing unit at Bellevue Hospital is a phenomenal achievement for New York City, as it marks another first in carceral care,” said Dr. Patsy Yang, senior vice president for NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services. “We at CHS have long envisioned the Outposted units as a better way to care for our most medically involved patients. The units are another milestone in how we see and treat people in a more respectful and decent way."
