Mayor Mamdani announces some Rikers Island detainees will be housed in therapeutic unit at Manhattan hospital
Detainees at Rikers Island with complicated medical needs will be transferred to a Manhattan hospital to get access to specialty care, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday.
A new therapeutic housing unit is opening to facilitate the mayor's plan for closing the troubled jail complex. It will serve 104 people in custody.
The first one will be at Bellevue Hospital in Kips Bay and have direct access to specialty services, including oncology, cardiology and neurology.
"Rather than wait critical hours and travel off site to get the treatment they need, specialty services will be just an elevator ride away," Mamdani said. "Rather than enduring the crumbling conditions that have defined Rikers for so long, they will receive care in a space designed for rehabilitation."
More units to open across NYC
Two other units will be created at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull and North Central Bronx. The one in Brooklyn will have 144 beds, and the one in the Bronx will have 92.
Those sites will serve patients with significant mental health needs, the mayor said.
The city's Department of Correction will provide security, custody management, programming and other services.
"Treat people in a more respectful and decent way"
Health officials lauded Mamdani's announcement, saying it's a new step forward in caring for incarcerated people.
"These outposted units, they are a first. They are unique, which is maybe why they partially took so long to do. They're a clear milestone in how we can see people more respectfully and more decently," said Dr. Patsy Yang, the senior vice president for NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services.
Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Helen Arteaga said the unit will treat patients faster and more humanely.
"Medical care has been difficult to access for those in the correctional system, particularly those at Rikers Island. That ends now," Arteaga said.
Mamdani casts doubt on closing Rikers Island in 2027
Mamdani said opening the Bellevue treatment center is the first step towards closing Rikers, but when CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer asked how he planned to meet his campaign promise of shutting down the prison in 2027, in accordance with New York City law, he seemed to indicate it will be easier said than done.
"Given the fact that there are about 7,000 or so inmates at Rikers now, the borough-based jails hold about 4,000. What steps are you going to be taking to reduce the jail population? And will you be able to meet the 2027 deadline?" Kramer asked.
Mamdani's answer put the blame on former Mayor Eric Adams' administration for the fact that the city's plan to have four borough-based jails up and running by next year is now just too high a hurdle to meet, even for a hard-charging man like Mamdani.
"[It's] practically impossible to fulfill, because we've seen years of a flouting of not just recommendations, but requirements, frankly. It is going to take us quite a bit of time to ensure that we can put our city back on the path," Mamdani said.
Adams spokesperson Todd Shapiro called Mamdani's finger-pointing a cop out, saying, "Zohran can point fingers, but governing means results. If he has a real plan to safely reduce the jail population, let's hear it. Until then, stop throwing stones and look in the mirror."
