Curtis Sliwa leads Queens rally opposing the closure of Rikers Island

Republican mayoral hopeful Curtis Sliwa rallied with Queens residents Friday to oppose the $9 billion plan to replace Rikers Island with four borough jails– citing costs and public safety concerns.

“All you’re going to do in having community jails, that we can’t afford, is spread the chaos into other communities,” Sliwa said at Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens– a block from where one of the new lockups is already under construction. “The chaos is on Rikers Island now. The inmates control Rikers Island, not the correctional officers,” Sliwa, who founded the Guardian Angels, said to the 40-person crowd.