NEW YORK \u2013 Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani today announced that Dana Kaplan will serve as the City\u2019s Close Rikers Czar, a new role responsible for overseeing the closure of Rikers Island, reducing the jail population, advancing construction of borough-based facilities, ensuring the safe transfer of people in custody off the island and planning for the island\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Kaplan brings more than two decades of experience in criminal justice reform, including as a senior advisor to the Independent Rikers Commission, where she helped shape and advance the City\u2019s blueprint to close Rikers Island and transition to a borough-based jail system.<\/p>\n
\u201cDana Kaplan has the vision and expertise to help us close Rikers Island, reduce the jail population and open a borough-based jail system that is smaller, safer and more humane,\u201d said Mayor Mamdani. \u201cShe will lead coordination across agencies to deliver a system that respects the dignity of people in custody and the people who work in these facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m honored to take on this role and work alongside City agencies, the City Council, federal partners and service providers to safely reduce the jail population, improve conditions and finish the job of transitioning to borough-based facilities,\u201d said Close Rikers Czar Dana Kaplan. \u201cClosing Rikers Island requires coordination, urgency and a commitment not only to closing the facilities, but to building a system rooted in dignity, accountability and care \u2014 turning a chapter in our city\u2019s jail system and opening a new one by replacing Rikers with a smaller, safer and more humane system that better serves all New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are excited to welcome Dana Kaplan as the Close Rikers Czar. She has dedicated her career to advancing criminal justice reform and played a critical role in developing the blueprint to close Rikers,\u201d said First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan. \u201cDana is uniquely qualified to help shepherd this work across the finish line and deliver a better jail system.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDana brings experience, vision and, most of all, heart, to this critical position,\u201d said New York City Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards. \u201cHaving worked with Dana for many years, I know that she will make important strides toward closing the jails on Rikers Island and promote the safety of everyone who works or is involved in the criminal legal system. We look forward to a strong partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDDC is hard at work creating the four new, more humane jails that will help enable the closure of Rikers Island, and earlier this week marked a major milestone at the new Brooklyn jail where the last piece of structural steel was installed,\u201d said NYC Department of Design and Construction Acting Commissioner Eduardo del Valle. \u201cDana Kaplan was there for the inception of this program, and her coordination will be a vital and necessary piece of transitioning from Rikers to the new facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2025, the City Council passed legislation requiring the appointment of a coordinator to oversee the transition to borough-based jails. Kaplan\u2019s hiring fulfills that mandate.<\/p>\n
Her selection marks the latest step in the Mamdani administration\u2019s work to meet the legal requirement to close Rikers Island and move to a smaller, borough-based system. The City recently took steps to move people off the island and improve conditions for both correction staff and those in custody.<\/p>\n