De Blasio Expected To Give News Conference About Shutting Down Rikers Island Prison

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has dropped his objections to closing the city's Rikers Island jail complex after being presented with a special panel's recommendation to phase out the violence-marred facility, The New York Times reported on Friday.

A 27-member panel, which has been studying the matter for more than a year, is recommending a $10.6billion plan to close the detention hub and replace it with smaller jails in each of the city's five boroughs, the newspaper said, citing a draft of the still-unreleased report.

'The commission believes that the use of Rikers Island must be phased out over the next 10 years and its facilities demolished,' the Times quoted the report as saying.

De Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito are expected to address the issue at a news conference on Friday afternoon.

[link to www.dailymail.co.uk]