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New York
More than a year ago, New York City embarked on one of its most ambitious infrastructure projects in memory: spending $8.7 billion to build four high-rise jails across four boroughs, so that it could close its eight-decade-old jail complex on Rikers Island a “penal colony,” in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s phrase by 2026. Much has changed since this heady 2019 announcement. Covid-19 has decimated the city’s budget. One of three community lawsuits against the four jails has met with initial success. A rise in crime is a reminder that it will be difficult to keep inmate numbers below the four neighborhood jails’ far lower capacity. Even before the city breaks ground, the jails projects are already two years late, with the completion date pushed to 2028, well into the next mayor’s potential second term.