NYC Opens New Outposted Therapeutic Housing Unit as Part of Rikers Closure Plan

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Department of Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards and other officials announce the opening of a new Outposted Therapeutic Housing Unit at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. | Photo Credit: Office of the Mayor, City of New York

• New York City opened its first Outposted Therapeutic Housing Unit at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, designed for people in custody with complex medical needs.
• The 104-bed unit is intended to move clinically vulnerable detainees from Rikers Island into a therapeutic setting with faster access to specialty care.
• City officials say the Bellevue unit is the first of three planned outposted units; future sites named in the release are NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull and North Central Bronx.
• Correctional Health Services will provide clinical care with Bellevue specialists, while the Department of Correction will handle security and custody management, according to the city.

NEW YORK – New York City has opened a new 104-bed therapeutic housing unit at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue that will house people in custody with complex medical needs, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced April 7.

The Outposted Therapeutic Housing Unit — the first of three planned units — is intended to transfer clinically vulnerable detainees from the Rikers Island jail complex into a hospital-campus setting with closer access to specialty care, a step the administration is framing as part of its plan to close Rikers.

The city said the Bellevue unit will serve people with serious conditions such as cancer and congestive heart failure who do not require hospitalization but face heightened risks in a traditional jail setting.

Located on the Bellevue campus, the unit provides direct access to specialty services including oncology, cardiology and neurology. Correctional Health Services clinicians will deliver care on-site, with additional monitoring and support in a therapeutic environment, the city said.

“Opening this new clinical facility at Bellevue Hospital is how we begin to close Rikers Island — not with promises, but with action,” said Mayor Mamdani. “For too long, people with serious medical needs have been left to suffer in a system that was never designed to care for them. Today, we are building something different: a system that delivers real care, treats people with dignity and makes our city safer for everyone — incarcerated people, corrections officers and all New Yorkers.”

NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz said the outposted unit is designed to reduce barriers to specialty services for patients with serious medical conditions. “The Outposted Therapeutic Housing Unit at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue will make it easier for patients with serous medical conditions to access specialty care,” said Katz.

City Hall said the unit is opening after “years of delays,” and described it as a shift away from a correctional health model “defined by delays” toward one focused on “dignity, access and prevention.”

Under the operating plan described in the announcement, Correctional Health Services remains the primary provider of clinical care and will coordinate with Bellevue specialists. The city said the New York City Department of Correction will provide security, custody management and programming, and that the unit meets standards set by the city and state correction oversight bodies.

“When people come into our care, we must use every resource available to us to meet their individual needs with compassion, innovation, and effective support,” said Department of Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards. “Providing high-quality healthcare is among the most essential services we can offer. While this facility may be small, its impact will extend far beyond its walls, helping to shape a new model of correctional care that will open new possibilities for the future.”

In addition to the Bellevue site, the mayor’s office said the administration plans to open two more outposted therapeutic housing units: a 144-bed unit at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull and a 92-bed unit at North Central Bronx. Those locations are expected to primarily serve patients with significant mental health needs, according to the announcement.

New York City has been committed to closing Rikers since 2017, with a plan to build four borough-based jails located in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx to replace the long-troubled facility. The first of those facilities is expected to open in 2029.

In the meantime, in January, a federal judge overseeing the city’s jails appointed former C.I.A. officer and Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Correction Nicholas Deml to assume control over major decisions at Rikers, shifting authority away from City Hall as the court pushes for faster reforms.

Later that month, Mayor Mamdani named Richards, who was formerly incarcerated at Rikers himself, as Commissioner of the NYC DOC. As the first formerly incarcerated individual to lead the Department, Richards will work closely with Deml to focus on improving safety, closing the Rikers Island facility and ensuring DOC delivers on its core responsibility to care for people in custody and support the staff who serve them.

This article is based on a press release published by the NYC Mayor’s Office on April 7, 2026.