Cuomo’s rivals blast shifting plans on Rikers Island

Published October 9, 2025 4:08pm ET



(The Center Square) — New York mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo is being lambasted by his political rivals over his shifting plans for the city’s notorious Rikers Island jail.

Speaking at a Crain’s New York business forum on Wednesday, Cuomo called for the facility to remain open and said that the city’s current plan to replace it with four neighborhood-based jails is unrealistic. He said the plan to close Rikers by 2027 is “way over budget” and could be delayed by as much as a decade.

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