Good afternoon, my name is Hannah May-Powers, and I am here today on behalf of Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso to support Intro. 1038. Thank you to Chair Restler for holding this important hearing and to Councilmember Nurse for introducing this bill, which aims to push the administration to close the Rikers Island jail for good and advance the Renewable Rikers plan.
Closing the Rikers Island jail remains a moral imperative despite how this administration has dragged its feet on constructing the associated borough-based jails. Not only will the borough-based jails be closer to courts and to incarcerated people’s support systems, they will allow for incarcerated individuals to access physical and mental healthcare in a way that is currently impossible on Rikers. Though the initial plan was to close Rikers in 2027, the first borough-based jail, located in Brooklyn, is not expected to be completed until 2029.
This is a failure of preparation that extends to the fact that there is no official plan in place for utilizing the Island for sustainability and resiliency purposes, as required by 2021 law. Although required feasibility studies for renewable energy structures and a new wastewater resource recovery facility (WWRF) on the Island have occurred, significant action still needs to happen. Intro. 1038 is a critical step toward transforming Rikers into the hub for environmental progress that it is legally mandated to become.
The vision for a Renewable Rikers aims to deliver justice for impacted communities in multiple ways. Groups disproportionately impacted by incarceration and policing, namely Black, Hispanic, and low-income New Yorkers, are also severely impacted by environmental racism, leading to adverse health outcomes. For example, the neighborhoods in Brooklyn with the highest number of individuals detained on Rikers, namely Brownsville, East New York, Flatbush, Ocean Hill, and Bushwick, also have higher-than-average rates of childhood asthma, adult asthma, cancer, and premature mortality. (See maps below from The 2025 Comprehensive Plan for Brooklyn).
In addition to infrastructure to support clean energy, clean water, and diversion of organic waste, the Regional Plan Association’s Renewable Rikers Plan calls for a research and training institute to be located on the Island, to connect people impacted by incarceration with new, green job opportunities. It also calls for a visitor center to “document and bear witness to the painful history that soaks the soil.” Additionally, consolidating WWRFs on Rikers Island could create opportunities for new open space in four NYC communities including the South Bronx.
This transformation of Rikers Island will be a major step toward addressing the long-lasting harm caused by racist policing and carceral practices that have plagued our city. Thank you again to the Committee, Chair Restler, and Councilmember Nurse for this hearing, and we encourage the Council to pass Intro. 1038 before the end of this term.
