Rikers Island (/ˈraɪkərz/) is a 413.17-acre (167.204 ha) island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that is home to New York City's main jail complex.[1] It is close to the runways of LaGuardia Airport.[2] Supposedly named after Abraham Rycken,[3][4] who bought the island in 1664,[5] the island was originally under 100 acres (40 ha) in size, but has since grown to more than 400 acres (160 ha). The first stages of expansion were accomplished largely by convict labor hauling in ashes for landfill. The island is politically part of the Bronx, although bridge access is from Queens and it is included as part of Queens Community Board 1 and uses a Jackson Heights, Queens, ZIP Code of 11370 for mail.[6]
The island is home to one of the world's largest correctional institutions and mental institutions,[7] and has been described as New York's most famous jail.[8] The complex, operated by the New York City Department of Correction, has a budget of $860 million a year, a staff of 9,000 officers and 1,500 civilians managing 100,000 admissions per year and an average daily population of 10,000 inmates.[9] Approximately 85% of those detained at Rikers Island have not been convicted of a crime. Detainees include pretrial defendants, either held without bail or remanded in custody. The rest of the population have been convicted and are serving short sentences.[10] According to a study done in 2015 by the Vera Institute of Justice, it costs the city approximately $209,000 to detain one person for one year at Rikers Island.[11]
Rikers Island has a reputation for abuse and neglect of inmates, attracting increased media and judicial scrutiny that has resulted in numerous rulings against the New York City government. It is also notorious for numerous assaults by inmates on uniformed and civilian staff, resulting in often serious injuries. In May 2013, Rikers Island ranked as one of the ten worst correctional facilities in the United States, based on reporting in Mother Jones magazine.[12] Violence on Rikers Island has been increasing in recent years. In 2015 there were 9,424 assaults, the highest number in 5 years.[13]
