Closing Rikers Island: Why Community-Based Solutions Are Critical Investments

Closing Rikers Island doesn’t just mean shutting down the facilities—it’s about investing in prevention and true public safety.

Alongside partner organizations, we’re urging the city to expand proven initiatives that invest in our communities, not the carceral system. With the Rikers Island jail complex set to close in 2027, these critical changes are essential to ensuring a safe and prosperous city.

ATI and reentry programs are a public safety response

Community-based initiatives lead to lower incarceration rates in New York City (Vera Institute of Justice). These initiatives target community members with critical support that addresses the root causes of incarceration—poverty, unstable housing, disability, and trauma—providing people with the resources they need to stabilize, heal, and prosper.

Holistic support changes lives

What services do formerly incarcerated New Yorkers need? Mental health care. Safe and stable housing. Employment opportunities. Supportive services that lead to long-term stability and independence. These investments create economic opportunities and help pull people out of the cycles of poverty and incarceration.

Incarcerating people on Rikers Island costs taxpayer dollars

The city spends $500,000+ a year to incarcerate a person on Rikers Island, more than any other jail system in the country (New York City Comptroller). What is our return on that investment? What if we invested those tax dollars into alternatives to incarceration, community resources, and the health and wellbeing of our neighbors? We could replace punishment with prevention through policy change.

Providing access to safe and stable housing, robust trauma-informed mental health care, and meaningful employment—rather than further investing in Rikers Island—stabilizes individuals, their families, and allows communities to thrive. 

Click here to learn more about our ATI programs that work directly with women detained at Rikers Island. To learn more about our community-based solutions, click here.