This week we asked readers about a proposal to close the Rikers Island jail complex and move the prisoners to smaller jails throughout the five boroughs.

Yes, close Rikers Island because it is rampant with corruption. Just as failing schools were closed down, so should this jail. Break it into smaller facilities so there’s no more bureaucracy and chaos and more order. They should also hold those officers accountable for failing in their jobs and taking part in the chaos.
Rosanna Delgado
Pelham Parkway

 

I guess if they find a good place for them where they’ll be safe and keep the rest of us safe, then that’s a good idea. But put a jail in Bedford Park? Ah… no, no.
Carla Roth
Bedford Park

 

 

I think it would make more sense to keep the prisoners in the borough they were arrested in. Either way, you’re still going to have corruption and the other things that go on there.

Edwin Soto
Pelham Bay

 

 

Really? Wow. If it’s saving taxpayer money I guess it’s good. A jail in Norwood would be hard to adjust to. That would be a little weird. You say, “not in my neighborhood, not in my backyard.” It’s a tricky thing, but building a court on the island makes sense, have a one-stop shop. Lock them up and hold the court there.
Isaac Feliciano
Norwood

 

My opinion of Rikers Island is that it seems like its a perfectly good place for it to be. I don’t see any point to it unless they’re going to privatize the jails as the Trump Administration wants to do. I’m sort of sad to hear that [Mayor Bill] de Blasio wants to build jails in the outer boroughs. I don’t see any point to that. Maybe they just need to fix it up with some reconstruction. I just wonder how they are going to pay for it.
Aaron Olsham
Van Cortlandt Park South