Rikers: A Bright Green Future for a Dark Place?
The New York Times, November 2, 2022: Rikers: A Bright Green Future for a Dark Place?
“The idea of turning Rikers into a green energy hub has been circulating since the City Council mandated the shutdown of the jails in 2027. That will leave Rikers empty, a large parcel of land in the East River close to La Guardia Airport.
“‘If the era of jailing on Rikers is ending,’ said Moses Gates, a vice president of the Regional Plan Association, which commissioned a report on Rikers as a green infrastructure center, ‘we have to think about a vision.’ That idea was echoed in the report, which said it would ‘likely take generations to repair the harm Rikers has done to Black, Brown and poor New Yorkers, but we need to start somewhere.’
“Gates credited the idea of Rikers as a green hub to the Renewable Rikers Coalition, an alliance of groups representing people who had been incarcerated there that was part of a steering panel that guided the report. ‘We’re going to need a great deal of green infrastructure if we’re going to come close to meeting our climate goals,’ Gates said.”
Additional reading:
6sqft, November 3, 2022: Here’s what Rikers Island could look like as a green infrastructure hub
The City, June 22, 2022: City Jails Won’t Turn Over Shuttered Rikers Building on Path to Green Island
