Former Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday said he would rather build a new jail complex on Rikers Island than move forward with the current plan to close Rikers and construct borough-based jails.
Speaking at a Crain’s Business Mayoral Forum, Cuomo said the planned closure of Rikers Island was "billions over budget and obsolete," according to a press release distributed by Cuomo's campaign office.
He would instead turn the borough-based jails into residential and commercial complexes that have affordable housing units, childcare centers and retail. The Brooklyn Detention Center, currently being constructed on Atlantic Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, is two years behind schedule, he said.
“Let’s be clear: Rikers in its current form must be closed —it is a human rights violation: Outdated, unsafe, and unacceptable," Cuomo said in a statement after the forum. "But the borough-based jail plan was unworkable from the start. It has become a $16 billion boondoggle that will harm property values, drive away small businesses, disrupt schools, and has already divided communities, all while failing to deliver a safer, fairer justice system."
Cuomo, running as an Independent in the November general election, said he chooses to rebuild outdated facilities on Rikers one at a time, so operations continue without interruption. He proposes replacing old structures with new, modern, housing designed to promote rehabilitation, safety and mental health.
He said he would use design-build contracting to keep development costs lower by about $300 million, and would like to launch direct bus routes from each borough to Rikers Island for family members, legal aid and community service providers.
“The Rikers closure plan is a continuation of the legacy of the failed de Blasio administration: Ideology over competence," Cuomo said. "The deadlines have already slipped years past, costs have doubled and neighborhoods are being forced to shoulder the burden of government at its worst. Now is the time to admit the mistake before we dig any deeper."
The legacy of Rikers Island has tarnished the city in many forms. There have been 12 Rikers-linked deaths in 2025, according to the Vera Institute, while the city and federal government have grappled with how to fix the notoriously dangerous jail complex for decades.
The City Council has long supported the recommendations of the Independent Rikers Commission, a group of experts, policymakers and advocates including corrections, law enforcement and victims’ services professionals, that called the jail "unsafe, decrepit, costly." The group in March recommended the city appoint one official that will only deal with the closing of Rikers and another to prepare the Department of Correction to transition to borough-based facilities.
Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa chided Cuomo for abruptly shifting his position.
"New Yorkers are watching a Cuomo that is so desperate for personal redemption that he will say whatever is convenient," Sliwa said.
