Andrew Yang wants to close Rikers Island — but doesn’t say when

Leading mayoral contender Andrew Yang wants to close the jails on Rikers Island, but doesn’t know when, saying Tuesday it’s “tough” for him to commit to a specific timetable.

“I support closing Rikers Island as soon as we can,” Yang said in a Freedom Agenda interview that aired on the left-leaning nonprofit’s Youtube channel Tuesday evening, when he was asked if he would commit to closing the facility by the end of August 2027. “It’s tough for me to commit when we can get this done by, but we need to get it done.