Well, congratulations, New York City—you’ve finally achieved what decades of bumbling bureaucracy, soft-on-crime policies, and activist mayors could only dream of: handing over your entire jail system to a federal judge. That’s right, Judge Laura Taylor Swain has now officially seized control of Rikers Island, a move that reads less like criminal justice reform and more like a chapter out of How to Lose Control of Your City in Ten Easy Steps.
Let’s unpack this. After nearly a decade of court orders, “oversight,” and enough taxpayer-funded consultants to staff a small country, the city still couldn’t clean up the mess at Rikers. And not just couldn’t—wouldn’t. Judge Swain’s 77-page ruling didn’t exactly pull punches, accusing the city of bad faith, mismanagement, and gross incompetence. Basically, she concluded that if left in the hands of the same political geniuses who created this disaster, we’d be stuck in an endless loop of finger-pointing and delay. Which, in fairness, is kind of New York City’s brand at this point.
Now, a court-appointed manager will run the show, reporting directly to the judge, with sweeping authority to take “all actions necessary.” Translation? The elected mayor of the largest city in America has officially been sidelined from overseeing one of its core responsibilities: public safety and corrections. That’s not a win for reform. That’s an embarrassing, neon-lit billboard screaming: We’ve completely lost control.
Mayor Eric Adams, ever the politician, tried to spin the ruling as an unfair handicap to his administration. Apparently, because the city is under orders to shut down Rikers by 2027, he claims he can’t make improvements there in the meantime. Right—because when a facility is set to close in a few years, it’s perfectly logical to let it deteriorate into complete chaos in the meantime. Nothing says leadership like shrugging and walking away while the place burns down.
And then we get the usual suspects like Scott Stringer, who crawl out of the woodwork to deliver moralistic sound bites about “decades of failure.” Yes, Scott, we know—Rikers is a disaster. But where were you when all this failure was happening during your tenure as city comptroller? Ah, right. Too busy writing reports no one read and ignoring the ticking time bomb you were supposedly keeping an eye on.
Meanwhile, as New York City courts hand over its jails to federal managers, President Trump is over on Truth Social doing something Democrats seem allergic to: taking action. Announcing the reopening and expansion of Alcatraz to house the worst of the worst, Trump sent a clear message—lawlessness will not be tolerated. The symbolism alone is enough to make progressives clutch their pearls, but for millions of Americans who are sick and tired of repeat offenders terrorizing their neighborhoods, it’s music to their ears.
Say what you want about Trump, but he understands something basic: when the justice system collapses and local leadership refuses to lead, the federal government must step in. Judge Swain’s takeover of Rikers is a symptom. Trump’s Alcatraz revival is a solution.
🚨 #BREAKING: The U.S. government has now SEIZED CONTROL of the notorious Rikers Island Prison from NYC
Tom Homan has said he plans on filling it up with illegals.
“I want EVERY illegal. I don’t care if you’re booked for shoplifting. You’re going to Rikers Island,” Homan said… pic.twitter.com/TALxpeHxfe
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 13, 2025
What we’re witnessing is the Democratic machine in full collapse. Rikers Island is not just a jail—it’s a monument to what happens when ideology trumps accountability, when activists become administrators, and when mayors are more worried about press conferences than public safety. The left let Rikers rot. Now the feds are cleaning up the mess—and not a moment too soon.
Huge day for Rikers Island. A federal judge will appoint an independent manager to oversee much of the city jails. Whoever is selected will have the powers of a receiver. pic.twitter.com/9WTw722F0s
— Courtney Gross (@courtneycgross) May 13, 2025
