Cuomo Calls for Scrapping City’s Over-Budget, Behind-Schedule, Borough Jails Plan & Rebuilding a Modern, Humane Rikers Instead
Proposes Working with Local Communities to Transform Borough Jail Sites into Affordable Housing and Mixed-Use Development
New York, NY - This morning, while addressing the Crain’s Business Mayoral Forum, Andrew M. Cuomo, candidate for Mayor of New York City, announced he would end the failing “borough-based jail” plan and instead rebuild Rikers Island into a modern, humane correctional campus, while reimagining the borough jail sites as affordable housing and mixed-use community developments.
“Let’s be clear: Rikers in its current form must be closed —it is a human rights violation: Outdated, unsafe, and unacceptable. 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.
“The Rikers closure plan is a continuation of the legacy of the failed de Blasio administration: Ideology over competence. 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.
“We can and must do both things at once: Close Rikers as we know it, and rebuild it the right way. We own the land and we can phase construction safely while keeping operations running, the same way we did with the L-train and LaGuardia airport — in the end we will have a humane, efficient correctional campus that is both functional and safe. Instead of building four massive jails in the middle of residential blocks, we can partner with local communities to reimagine those sites for affordable housing, mixed-use development, and neighborhood renewal.
“This is about common sense and competence. We need a mayor who can manage complex projects and deliver for New Yorkers — not chase slogans or make false promises. I will get this done, just as I’ve gotten many other seemingly impossible and intractable infrastructure projects done – on time and on budget.”
The City’s current four-borough jail plan is deeply behind schedule, logistically unworkable, and fiscally unsustainable:
The original 2019 plan projected $8 billion in costs and closure of Rikers by 2027
Current estimates have ballooned to $15–16 billion, nearly double the original price tag – experience suggests actual cost will be even more
Major contracts for the Queens ($3.9 billion) and Bronx ($2.9 billion) jails alone already total over $7 billion
The Brooklyn jail is two years behind schedule, while the Manhattan jail is not projected to be completed until 2032 — five years after the mandated Rikers closure date
The City’s own Budget Director has formally acknowledged that the 2027 closure deadline will not be met
The original plan proposed a total capacity of 3,300 people—less than half of Rikers Island’s population, which exceeded 7,000 in March 2025
Cuomo proposes scrapping the current four-borough jail scheme in favor of a phased rebuild of Rikers Island that is safe, modern, and humane — while ensuring local communities benefit from redevelopment elsewhere.
1. Phased Rebuild of Rikers
Rebuild outdated facilities the smart way: one at a time, so operations continue without interruption. Replace old, inhumane structures with new, modern, housing designed to promote rehabilitation, safety, and mental health. This is how Cuomo rebuilt LaGuardia Airport, and it worked.
2. Fiscal Accountability and Efficiency
By focusing construction on one secured site, the City can save billions in redundant costs, avoid years of delay, and use modern design-build contracting to keep projects on time and on budget — as Cuomo did with LaGuardia, Moynihan Train Hall, and the Kosciuszko Bridge. An analysis by the Manhattan Institute in 2020, estimated the cost of a plan like this to cost roughly $300 million less than the initial cost estimates of the borough-based jails before they ballooned to the current projected cost of $15 to $16 billion.
3. Community Redevelopment at Borough Jail Sites
Work hand-in-hand with neighborhood leaders, elected officials, and developers to reimagine borough jail parcels as new community assets:
Affordable housing built with union labor
Mixed-use developments with retail, childcare, and open space
Job-creating public projects tailored to each borough’s needs
4. Borough-Based Express Bus Service to Rikers
Launch direct express bus routes from each borough to Rikers Island for family members, legal aid, and community service providers — achieving visitation access without building four new jails in residential neighborhoods.
A Record of Results
Andrew Cuomo has a long record of accomplishment when it comes to managing major public projects on time and on budget:
Rebuilt LaGuardia and JFK Airports
Delivered the Moynihan Train Hall
Constructed the new Kosciuszko Bridge
Built the Second Avenue Subway Extension
Overhauled the L-Train Shutdown Project, Successfully Replacing a 15 to 20 Month Shutdown with a New Plan With Minimum Service Disruptions that was finished on budget and ahead of schedule.
###