“...one of the latest signs that the de Blasio administration’s 10-year, $8.7 billion plan to replace Rikers Island with smaller jails in every borough except Staten Island has hit some early snags.
Another sign: some recent pandemic-spurred funding changes, which prompted one Lower Manhattan community group to crow this week: ‘We have saved Chinatown for now.’
But city officials said the plan to demolish and replace the 24-story jail tower known as The Tombs is still a go — along with the rest of the planned new lockups.
’There have been no cuts to funding for borough-based jails and the city remains committed to closing Rikers and building a jail system that is smaller, safer, and more humane,’ said Maggie Halley, a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.”
