Starting today at Bellevue Hospital: Mamdani opens luxe $241M hospital ward for inmates as he pushes to close Rikers

Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday announced the opening of a new, quarter billion dollar hospital unit for city inmates — complete with a basketball hoop, library and other “therapeutic settings.”

The 104-bed facility at Bellevue Hospital will serve prisoners with “complex medical needs,” transferring them from Rikers Island — in what City Hall claimed marked a “major step” in shuttering the troubled jail complex.

The sprawling infirmary, located in a secure wing on Bellevue’s second floor, will start welcoming inmates on Wednesday, offering access to a “full range of specialty services,” such as oncology, cardiology and neurology, City Hall officials said.

Read more in the NY Post article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/07/us-news/mamdani-opens-luxe-241-million-bellevue-hospital-ward-for-inmates-as-he-pushes-to-close-rikers/