In one of the most blatant development schemes in history, the de Blasio administration has announced the closure of Rikers Island jail complex in 2027 in order to put the real estate there to “better use”. Jails will instead be redistributed throughout 4 boroughs (Staten Island will not be getting one). Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan will have their detention centers rebuilt or remodeled to accommodate the inmates from their respective boroughs. The Queens jail – decided without community input – will be at the currently closed Kew Gardens facility. The Bronx will have a new jail built at a police tow pound which lies across the street from rowhouses because, in another real estate deal, the City traded the former Bronx House of Detention for some land as part of the Yankee Stadium project. District Attorney Richard Brown has written our cover story on why closing Rikers is a bad move for pols who claim that they are simply pursuing justice.