{"id":188687,"date":"2026-04-07T19:43:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T19:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/188687\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T19:43:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T19:43:45","slug":"new-100-bed-facility-opens-in-manhattan-for-rikers-detainees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/188687\/","title":{"rendered":"New 100-bed facility opens in Manhattan for Rikers detainees"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) \u2013 A new facility is opening for Rikers detainees<\/a> with \u201ccomplex medical needs\u201d at a Manhattan hospital, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Some 104 detainees will move to the new facility at Bellevue Hospital on Wednesday, Mamdani said. It will allow for the closure of Rikers\u2019 North Infirmary Command<\/a>, a 500-bed facility for people with acute medical needs.<\/p>\n

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The new facility has medical equipment, natural light and voluntary respit rooms, just steps away from necessary hospital care, Mamdani said. Two similar properties, altogether with 340 beds, will open in Brooklyn and the Bronx by 2029.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe amount of time and effort that it would take to bring an incarcerated individual to this level of medical service meant that many incarcerated people were refusing that medical care,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

The Bellevue facility is long delayed, and its cost has ballooned over the years, The City reported.<\/a> Last year, jail officials said they were short on staff for the Bellevue facility, which cost $241 million, according to The City.<\/p>\n

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But on Tuesday, city officials announced they\u2019d received 400 applications for around 140 open positions at the Bellevue facility. It underscores how desperate Corrections Officers are for better conditions, Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

The opening is an \u201cimportant step forward\u201d in closing Rikers Island jails,<\/a> Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan said. But closing Rikers by 2027, as legally mandated, is \u201cpractically impossible,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

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 <\/a>and follow her on Twitter here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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