MANHATTAN — MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI on Tuesday unveiled a 104-bed therapeutic housing unit at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue for incarcerated people with serious medical conditions, calling it the first concrete step toward shuttering Rikers Island, according to a NYC Health + Hospitals press release.
The $241 million facility — completed in 2025 but vacant for 15 months under the Adams administration — began accepting patients on Wednesday. The facility provides on-site access to oncology, cardiology and neurology services.
The Department of Correction will decommission the North Infirmary Command at Rikers and transfer it to the Department of Citywide Administrative Services by June. Additional units are planned at Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn (144 beds) and North Central Bronx (92 beds), with a target completion of 2029.
Mamdani acknowledged the City Council’s 2027 Rikers closure deadline is now “practically impossible” to meet, attributing the delay to his predecessor’s inaction.
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