Closing Rikers Island will require a transparent partnership with New Yorkers across the city and with government, including the City Council and the State.

To help keep the plan to create a smaller, safer and fairer correctional system on track and guide it through the hurdles that will arise, Mayor de Blasio has appointed a Justice Implementation Task Force chaired by Elizabeth Glazer, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and Zachary W. Carter, Corporation Counsel of the City of New York. The Task Force combines existing efforts across the city, both inside and outside government, into one centralized body that can shape strategy and ensure progress. Check back regularly for updates from working groups focused on safely reducing the size of jail population, modern and humane jail design, and improving the culture inside jails for both staff and incarcerated individuals.