Rikers Island Overhaul Planned For Inmates, Staff

NEW YORK, NY — A change to staffing shifts and inmate groupings are coming to Rikers Island and other shelter sites as part of a spring shakeup, authorities said Thursday.

The city plans to end 12-hour shifts for all correctional staff by the spring and separate people in custody by age at Rikers Island and other shelter sites beginning this summer.

The Mayor directed the Law Department and Department of Correction to develop a plan in collaboration with various parties, and will minimum standards and implement Local Law 42.

This plan aims to improve conditions on Rikers Island for both staff and people in custody, Mamdani said.

The directive was issued through Emergency Executive Order 1.

“Today, we are taking a decisive step to improve conditions and move our jail system toward long-term stability and safety for those in custody and correction staff," Mamdani said. “For too long, city government allowed entrenched problems and operational breakdowns to persist. This plan shifts us away from temporary stopgaps and toward sustainable reform.”

The DOC will immediately return to standard procurement rules.

Mamdani also signed Emergency Executive Order 1.9, which ends procurement-related suspensions. Corporation Counsel Steve Banks stated that the Department of Correction and Law Department developed the plan to address long-standing issues in the jail system.

The City has also produced a plan to return the shelter system to compliance with legal and regulatory standards. This plan focuses on closing the last remaining emergency asylum seeker shelter site, transitioning residents into compliant Department of Homeless Services facilities, and bringing single-adult shelters into compliance with capacity limits.

The City will pursue these goals through phased transitions and by strengthening prevention and diversion programs.