Democratic Councilman Robert Holden wants to create an 11-person commission to look at the cost of overhauling the island’s notorious jail facility.
Thursday to create the commission, the members of which would be appointed by the mayor and City Council.plan to shutter Rikers Island’s jail complex
Surging construction costs, project delays, complaints from the affected communities, and a jail population of about 5,500 detainees that far exceeds the planned capacity of 3,544 beds has left the blueprint approved by the City Council in 2019 vulnerable. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio planned to shutter Rikers Island and replace it with smaller facilities throughout the boroughs.a new jail complex on Rikers being pushed by some elected officials, including Holden, and the city’s correction officers union is estimated to cost about $5.6 billion to build. It would include a hospital, athletic fields, work-training centers, a farming area, ferry service and a sun-filled atrium.