Rikers Island is
New York City's main
jail complex, as well as the name of the island on which it sits, in the
East River between
Queens and the mainland
Bronx, adjacent to the runways of
LaGuardia Airport. Supposedly named after Abraham Rycken, the island is home to one of the world's largest correctional institutions. The island itself is part of the Bronx, though it is included as part of
Queens Community Board 1 and has a Queens
ZIP code of 11370. The jail complex, operated by the
New York City Department of Correction, has a budget of $860 million a year, a staff of 9,000 officers and 1,500 civilians managing 100,000 admissions per year and an average daily population of 10,000 inmates. However, it is notorious for abuse and neglect of prisoners in recent years, which has attracted increased media and judicial scrutiny that resulted in numerous rulings against the New York City government. In May 2013, Rikers Island ranked as one of the ten worst prisons in the United States, based on reporting in
Mother Jones magazine.