New York City Council votes to close infamous Rikers Island jails

The New York City Council voted on Thursday to close the city's infamous Rikers Island jail complex by 2026, casting off a detention system plagued by chronic violence and decrepit facilities.

The council approved an $8.7 billion package of legislation designed to close Rikers and three other jails, create four more humane facilities throughout the city and eventually ban incarceration on Rikers Island for good, turning it into a public space.