Closing Rikers

The history of Rikers Island features violence, negligence, corruption, and the repeated failure of reform efforts. Now the City has committed to close the jail complex by 2027. Sustained advocacy is necessary to ensure that the small jails which replace Rikers are welcoming to visitors and integrated into our communities, and that New Yorkers are held in jail only when public safety requires it.

Osborne works to sustain steep reductions in the jail population by pressing for public investment in community-based responses to crime. We are demanding that any new jails be designed to support families and show detained people they remain our neighbors. While Rikers remains open, we continue working to mitigate its brutalizing nature, with a focus on family visiting.