Mayor de Blasio is celebrating a City Council vote to close Rikers Island.
“The era of mass incarceration is over.It’s over.This action today means that New York City is set on a new path,” de Blasio said.
The $8 billion plan will close Rikers by 2026, replacing it with four smaller jails in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx.
Advocates say the plan will reduce the prison population and create more humane conditions for inmates. Critics are opposed to having jails in their neighborhood.
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