Republican mayoral hopeful Curtis Sliwa rallied with Queens residents Friday to oppose the $9 billion plan to replace Rikers Island with four borough jails– citing costs and public safety concerns.
“All you’re going to do in having community jails, that we can’t afford, is spread the chaos into other communities,” Sliwa said at Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens– a block from where one of the new lockups is already under construction.
“The chaos is on Rikers Island now. The inmates control Rikers Island, not the correctional officers,” Sliwa, who founded the Guardian Angels, said to the 40-person crowd.
Last month an inmate at the notorious city clink attacked a jail captain with feces. Just a week before that another inmate stole an official logbook to complain about the lack of guards.
“Bottom line is there’s no money for community jails. There is no money,” Sliwa said.
The city is facing a $5.4 billion deficit despite a $15 billion cash infusion from the feds. The deadline for construction of the four new jails in every borough except Staten Island has already been pushed back because of coronavirus-related delays.
Sliwa also decried the plight of correction officers who’ve had to work triple shifts and face serious injury from inmates.
“How about straightening out the employment prospects for correctional officers so they can work a decent eight hour shift?” Sliwa fumed.
“If they choose a little overtime they’ll have it, but who the hell ever heard in modern civilized society that a civil servant has to work three straight shifts? That’s 24 hours. This is not an emergency situation,” he said.
Donghui Zang, president of the New York City Residents Alliance, pleaded with the next mayor and incoming City Council “to do everything to stop the jail.”
“That’s what we want,” Zang told The Post at the rally.
Sliwa’s Democratic challenger Eric Adams supports the plan to close Rikers.
Adams is heavily favored to win the general election in November.