FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Contact: Yonah Zeitz: yonah@katalcenter.org • 347-201-2769
Follow on socials @KatalCenter • #ShutRikers #CutShutInvestNY
NYC Mayor, City Council Pass FY2026 Budget That Fails to Advance Plans to Shut Down Rikers
Under Mayor Adams, the Crisis on Rikers Has Worsened; Adams Administration Has Outright Abandoned the 2027 Closure Plan
New York, NY: Last night, the New York City Council voted to approve a $115.9 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget. For the fourth budget in a row, Mayor Adams and the City Council have passed a budget that does not advance the city’s plan to shut Rikers, leaving closure in limbo.
The centerpiece of the closure plan is reducing the city’s jail population by utilizing proven alternatives to incarceration and building into a strong social service infrastructure. Since taking office, Mayor Adams, with the approval of the City Council, has cut the funds for services and programs with a proven track record of reducing the city’s jail population. His administration has reversed the decades-long trend of New York City steadily reducing the number of people incarcerated at Rikers. When Adams took office, roughly 5,400 people were incarcerated in city jails, and today more than 7,600 people are incarcerated and the population continues to rise.
As a result, the overlapping crises and scandals on Rikers Island have worsened under Adams. Violence is out of control, dysfunction continues to reign at the New York City Department of Corrections, and at least 40 people have died in city jails. The conditions at Rikers have gotten so bad that the U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain decided to take Rikers Island out of the city’s control and appoint an independent “remediation manager” to address the constitutional violations.
To save lives and shut down Rikers amidst the current crisis, it will take much more than just restoring the cuts to ATI’s and reentry services.
Yonah Zeitz, Advocacy Director of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice, said: “For the fourth budget in a row, Mayor Adams and the City Council have failed to advance the closure of Rikers. The budget process is the most significant lever for the Council to hold Adams accountable for reducing the jail population and shutting down Rikers. But this budget doesn’t get the city any closer to shutting Rikers. Conditions at Rikers have gotten so bad that federal court intervention is required.
Restoring cuts to ATIs and reentry services is necessary and long overdue, but woefully inadequate. Maintaining the status quo won’t save lives and most definitely will not get us closer to shutting down Rikers. The mayor and city council must move to cut the correctional population, shut down Rikers, and invest in real community safety: housing, health care, education, and jobs.”
Background: #ShutRikers is a campaign of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice. Katal members, supporters, and our allies are working to cut the correctional populations and the budgets used for caging people; shut down Rikers Island; and invest in real public safety: housing, health care, education, and jobs.
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