NEW YORK, NY – Today, elected officials, including New York State Senators Kristen Gonzalez and Julia Salazar, Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, and Councilmembers Sandy Nurse and Gale Brewer, toured the completed incarcerated unit at Bellevue Community Hospital. 

The tour was scheduled after months of inquiries into the unopened unit and a letter demanding transparency from the elected officials to City Hall. 

The 100-bed unit at Bellevue was funded with $241 million in taxpayer dollars. It was intended to serve severely ill incarcerated individuals as part of the City's commitment to close Rikers Island by 2027. However, the unit remains unused, with no public timeline for opening.

State Senator Kristen Gonzalez said, “Every day this unit stays closed is another day a New Yorker sits in solitary confinement or suffers at Rikers without care. This is more than a delay—it’s a failure of our moral and political responsibilities. We must continue to fight for the rights and dignity of all New Yorkers seeking healthcare, including those incarcerated.”

State Senator Julia Salazar said, “New York has a long history of treating incarcerated individuals as if they are less than human.The fact is, being incarcerated does not give the government the right to deny you basic human rights, including medical care. That’s why this unit was built - so that severely ill New Yorkers at Rikers could finally begin to receive the care they desperately need. The DOC’s failure to open this unit in a timely manner is irresponsible, inexcusable, and potentially lethal for those in Rikers.”

Assemblymember Harvey Epstein said, “The city made commitments as part of the plan to close Rikers to create outposted therapeutic housing units, including this one in my district. $241 million and six years later, the 104-bed facility sits empty. We are demanding that this unit come online immediately and begin to serve patients who have serious illnesses. This will significantly save on time and resources and improve care instead of transferring individuals back and forth from Rikers.”

Councilmember Sandy Nurse said, “Rikers Island is no place for anyone battling serious illness. Twelve deaths in DOC custody this year, many from medical neglect, should make that painfully clear. The Bellevue unit has been funded for years and yet it remains closed. While DOC cites staffing shortages as the main obstacle, I urge DOC to start operations now by phasing in detainees slowly, offering bonuses for senior officers who are close to retirement to stay on at Bellevue, and other possibilities. Every day this lifesaving facility sits empty, more people suffer and die needlessly on Rikers.”

Councilmember Gale Brewer said, “City and State agencies transformed the second floor of Bellevue Hospital, at great expense, into an impressive and modern medical facility for detainees with serious physical and mental illness. The challenge remains getting it open as soon as possible. One of the impediments is finding more than 200 correction officers to staff the facility. Already there are too few officers at Rikers Island. The Department of Correction must do more to recruit and retain good staff. The facility, when fully utilized, would be a great benefit to the people it serves and all New Yorkers.”

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