NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – A 36-year-old died Wednesday at a first-of-its-kind medical facility to help close the notorious Rikers Island jail, according to the Department of Corrections.
Christopher Rodriguez, 36, was arrested and booked in November, 2025, city records show. He was being held at the Outposted Therapeutic Housing Unit at Bellevue. It’s the sixth in-custody death reported by city officials in 2026.
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“I am heartbroken by the death earlier today of a New Yorker who was in City custody,” Mamdani said. “As is protocol for any death in City custody, the Department of Correction and its oversight partners will conduct a full investigation.”
Officials say Rodriguez was found in medical distress at the first-of-its-kind medical jail facility and declared dead Wednesday morning. The 104-bed unit was announced in April by Mayor Zohran Mamdani to facilitate the closure of Rikers Island. The facility opened after “years of delays,” city officials said in April.
“For too long, people with serious medical needs have been left to suffer in a system that was never designed to care for them. Today, we are building something different: a system that delivers real care, treats people with dignity and makes our city safer for everyone—incarcerated people, corrections officers and all New Yorkers,” Mamdani said in April.
The city plans to open two more similar facilities at Woodhull and North Central Bronx hospitals.
Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here.
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