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NYC is looking to hire a 'jails czar' to help close Rikers
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Mar 14, 2026
Modified Mar 15, 2026
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Mar 14, 2026
Modified Mar 15, 2026
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The Mamdani administration is looking to hire a “borough-based jails czar,” according to a job listing posted by the mayor’s office on Friday.
The high-ranking role comes with a $180,000 to $230,000 salary, the listing states, and “will serve as a trusted advisor to the mayor, first deputy mayor, and the administration’s senior leadership on all matters related to the closing of Rikers.”
“The City Council passed a law last year requiring this role, and the Mamdani administration is implementing it," City Hall spokesperson Sam Raskin said in an email. "The mayor is committed to closing Rikers Island and replacing it with smaller, borough-based facilities now under construction. This position is part of a broader effort to build a jail system that is safer and more humane—for correction officers, for people in custody, and for every New Yorker."
The city is legally mandated to close the Rikers Island jail complex, which has long been troubled by reports of subpar conditions and violence, by August 2027. Last year, 15 people died at Rikers or while in medical care shortly after being released from custody.
The search for a jails czar represents Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s latest step to address the situation at Rikers since taking office in January. That month, he signed an emergency executive order directing jail officials to end solitary confinement on Rikers and hired criminal justice reformer Stanley Richards to lead the city’s Department of Correction.
Plans to shutter the troubled jail complex and replace it with four borough-based jails stalled under the previous Adams administration. A progress report released by the city in January estimated that the Brooklyn jail — the furthest along of the new facilities — wouldn't be complete until 2029.
The jails czar would be tasked with getting that plan back on track by ensuring that “all projects and initiatives associated with the closing of Rikers and the building of borough-based jails are on track for timely completion,” according to the job posting.
This story has been updated with comment from City Hall.
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Politics
public safety
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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