SENATOR GOLDEN COMMENTS ON MAYOR DE BLASIO’S SUPPORT FOR PLAN TO CLOSE RIKERS ISLAND

Brooklyn – State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C-I, Brooklyn), a former New York City Police Officer, has issued the following statement this afternoon following Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement that he supports a plan to close Rikers Island:

“This afternoon, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced at a City Hall press conference that he has given the green light to a plan that will close Rikers Island. It is startling to see a conceptual agreement on such a major issue, without an actual plan to maintain public safety in the City of New York.

The many unknown details of this plan are rather alarming to many New Yorkers including myself. Where is the Mayor going to put the 12,000 inmates currently housed at Rikers Island? Will the final plan be one similar to the decentralized plan developed to address the homeless crisis our City is facing?  Which communities throughout the five boroughs will now be forced to house a City jail?

There needs to be a long term plan that focuses on the safety of New Yorkers and at the same time sees justice served. As the Mayor and the City Council advance the closure of Rikers Island, the reality is that crime will continue to take place on the streets of New York City. And when crimes happen and arrests are made, people will need to be put behind bars.”