NYC to move teens off troubled Rikers Island jail complex
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York City officials say 16- and 17-year-old inmates will be moved off the troubled Rikers Island jail complex and into a Bronx youth facility.
Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih BLAH'-zee-oh) announced the $300 million, four-year plan Thursday. It's subject to land use, planning and community approval.
New York and North Carolina are the only two states that automatically prosecute 16- and 17-year-olds as adults. Legislative efforts to raise the age of criminal responsibility statewide have failed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Almost all the 188 teens held on Rikers are awaiting trial. That's down from 337 in 2013.
Federal prosecutors have urged that the teens be moved off Rikers since a 2014 investigation found they were routinely abused.
De Blasio says age-appropriate housing will help teens return to the right path.