Commission Warns Closure Deadline at Risk, Offers Bold Strategies for a Safer, More Equitable NYC
New York City – A newly-released report from the Independent Rikers Commission—commonly known as the Lippman Commission—lays out an urgent plan to close the notorious Rikers Island jail complex.
Titled “A Path Forward: The Blueprint to Close Rikers Island,” the report outlines a series of data-driven strategies aimed at reducing the city’s jail population, investing in mental health infrastructure, and transforming the very ground Rikers sits on.
The Commission’s updated report comes at a pivotal moment.
As of February 2025, New York City’s jail population stood at approximately 6,800. That number has since swelled to around 7,100, driven in part by a state correctional officer strike. These figures are significantly above the threshold needed to meet the legal mandate to shut down Rikers by August 2027—a deadline that now appears increasingly in jeopardy.
The Blueprint describes Rikers as “decrepit, dysfunctional, and violent.”
Nearly 85% of people incarcerated there are being held pretrial. The infrastructure is crumbling, the culture is volatile, and the cost is staggering—more than $400,000 per person per year.
Construction on borough-based jails, which are meant to replace Rikers, is substantially behind schedule. Originally expected to open by 2027, the facilities are now projected to be completed between 2029 and 2032, undermining the city’s compliance with its own closure legislation.
Despite these challenges, the Commission argues that closing Rikers remains not only possible, but imperative.
“Moving from Rikers to a borough-based system of jails and secure hospital-based beds promises to increase safety, inside and outside the facilities, and save New York City over $2 billion per year,” the report declares.
The Blueprint lays out several key pillars to safely and sustainably reduce the jail population while building a more equitable criminal legal system:
- Accelerating Case Processing: With the average stay at Rikers currently 269 days, court system improvements could reduce the population by as many as 2,000 people.
- Investing in Mental Health Infrastructure: The report proposes opening 250 new residential treatment beds for people with serious mental illness or co-occurring disorders, expanding Justice Involved Supportive Housing, and increasing the use of mental health courts.
- Creating Secure Alternatives: A plan to create 500 secure psychiatric beds and 360 hospital-based beds would ensure that those with the most acute needs are treated, not jailed.
- Reducing Gender-Based Incarceration: Building on prior reports like Path to Under 100, the Blueprint offers strategies to significantly reduce incarceration rates among women and gender-expansive individuals.
In total, the report finds that these reforms could lower the jail population to the necessary target of around 4,500—well within the range needed to close Rikers.
The report also aims to tackle the entrenched culture of violence inside the jail system. One proposal is to transform one existing Rikers facility into a “reform lab” to pilot better practices. This would include:
- Implementing proven “high reliability” correctional management systems.
- Instituting mentorship models for new officers.
- Testing 10-hour shifts to improve officer wellness and retention.
- Applying consistent sanctions and incentives for both staff and incarcerated individuals.
These reforms, the report argues, could drastically improve jail conditions and reduce violence even before the closure of Rikers is complete.
In another proposal, the Commission endorses the Renewable Rikers Plan, an effort to convert the island into a clean energy hub. This transformation could save the city up to $10 billion in infrastructure costs while creating green jobs and advancing environmental justice for overburdened communities, particularly in the South Bronx and Northern Queens.
“Public officials possessing a genuine commitment to close the abysmal jails on Rikers have a wealth of resources at their disposal,” the Commission affirms, positioning the Blueprint as both roadmap and rallying cry.
Contrary to narratives that pit public safety against reform, the Commission points to polling from the Alliance for Safety and Justice showing that a majority of crime victims support transitioning from Rikers to borough-based jails, especially when it means people with mental health needs are diverted into treatment instead of incarceration.
DCJ’s own research reinforces this, showing that pretrial release is not only consistent with public safety—it often reduces recidivism.
The Blueprint concludes with a recommendation for the appointment of two senior City officials: a City Hall Rikers Closure Coordinator and a Department of Correction Transition Lead to ensure focused leadership throughout the closure process.
While the obstacles are real—delays, rising jail numbers, and political resistance—the Commission insists that the moral, fiscal, and public safety case for closure remains overwhelming.
“Rikers is not just a jail complex,” the report says. “It is a human rights crisis, a symbol of systemic failure, and a stain on our city’s conscience. The time to close it—fully, finally, and forever—is now.”
