It was something city officials were celebrating.
A “topping out” ceremony for the city’s new Brooklyn jail — the first of four new jails set to replace Rikers Island.
What You Need To Know
Rikers Island must legally close in August 2027
The jail to replace it will not be completed
Jail completion dates are between 2029 and 2032
The last beam was put in place, putting the structure at approximately 295 feet, towering over downtown Brooklyn.
Officials signed it before it was placed on top.
NY1 went inside the building this week.
“These are the actual cells. They are being protected right now,” said Nina Gladstone, who works for AECOM-Hill, the site’s project manager. “They get prefabricated off-site. They [are] brought in. [Bring] up the crane and brought on the floor until the glass is finished installed on the exterior. “
The prefabricated cells were under plastic wrap. In 2029, when this facility is scheduled to open, it will house more than 1,000 detainees.
“This administration is not focused on a particular deadline,” Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards said. “What we’re focused on is our commitment that we’re doing everything in our power to close Rikers.”
This facility will open about two years after the legal deadline for Rikers Island to close.
The other facilities in Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx will not open for years after that.
Some of those sites are holes in the ground or still vacant lots.
The mayor has acknowledged it will be practically impossible for the city to meet the August 2027 deadline to close Rikers Island.
“I’ve been having a number of key conversations with key stakeholders from the Department of Correction, the administration, key stakeholder and advocates to really understand what is a responsible and feasible timeline to shut down Rikers for good,” said Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers, who is chair of the council’s criminal justice committee.
“We are going to have to introduce legislation in the council to amend the existing law because we know 2027 is just not going to happen,” she added.
“Right now there are too many detainees on Rikers Island from Brooklyn to fit in the borough-based jail in Brooklyn,” said Councilman Lincoln Restler, who represents the Brooklyn jail site. “So, we need to start planning now how [can we] safely and smartly reduce the incarcerated population.”
In a step toward that, NY1 has learned Mayor Zohran Mamdani has selected a new Rikers czar, Dana Kaplan, who will orchestrate the closure of Rikers and the construction of the new facilities.
Kaplan worked in the de Blasio administration.