Forty years ago today: Close Rikers as long-term jail

The Rikers Island jail, formally known as the Men’s House of Detention on Rikers Island, was branded “outmoded and inappropriate” by the Board of Correction, which advised phasing the jail out as a long-term detention facility. The board’s chairman said a phase-out would be “a matter of paramount importance” in the months ahead.
–Brought to you by Lights Out Summer, set in 1977, coming Oct. 1.