page_title: Rikers Island
section_title: Historic use
hierarchical_section_title: Rikers Island / History / Historic use
caption_attribution_description: English: A view of Rikers Island in New York, United States, looking south from the air over The Bronx. LaGuardia Airport can be seen in the background. Flushing Bay, Shea Stadium and Citi Field can be seen slightly behind LaGuardia. Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center can be seen in the lower left as the blue and white docked prison barge. The Hunts Point Wastewater Treatment Plant is located to the right of the Bain Correctional Center. Deutsch: Luftbild von Rikers Island in New York, des größten Gefängnis-Komplexes der Welt mit zeitweise 18.000 Untersuchungshäftlingen. Sichtbar ist der einzige Zugang zur Insel, die 1,2 Kilometer lange 1966 eingeweihte Francis-Buono-Brücke, sowie der benachbarte LaGuardia Airport, sowie links unten das Gefängnisschiff namens Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center für 800 jugendliche Häftlinge.
context_page_description: Rikers Island is a 413.17-acre island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that is home to New York City's main jail complex. Supposedly named after Abraham Rycken, who bought the island in 1664, the island was originally under 100 acres in size, but has since grown to more than 400 acres. The first stages of expansion were accomplished largely by convict labor hauling in ashes for landfill. The island is politically part of the Bronx, although bridge access is from Queens. It is part of Queens Community Board 1 and uses an East Elmhurst, Queens, ZIP Code of 11370 for mail.
  The island is home to one of the world's largest correctional institutions and mental institutions, and has been described as New York's most famous jail. The 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 The majority of detainees are pretrial defendants, either held on bail or remanded in custody. The rest of the population have been convicted and are serving short sentences.
context_section_description: The island is thought to be named after Abraham Rycken, a Dutch settler who moved to Long Island in 1638 and whose descendants owned Rikers Island until 1884, when it was sold to the city for $180,000.
  The island was used as a military training ground during the Civil War. The first regiment to use the Island was the 9th New York Infantry, also known as Hawkins' Zouaves, which arrived there on May 15, 1861. Hawkins' Zouaves was followed by the 36th New York State Volunteers on June 23, which was followed by the Anderson Zouaves on July 15, 1861. The Anderson Zouaves were commanded by John Lafayette Riker who was related to the owners of the island. The camp of the Anderson Zouaves was named Camp Astor in compliment to millionaire John Jacob Astor Jr. who provided funding for the army, and who appears to have made a significant contribution to the raising of the Anderson Zouaves in particular, with the Astor ladies being credited with the manufacture of the zouave uniforms worn by the recruits of this regiment. Rikers Island was subsequently used by numerous other Civil War regiments, but the name "Camp Astor" was specific to the Anderson Zouaves and did not become a general name for the military encampment on the island.
  In 1883 New York City's Commission of Charities and Corrections expressed an interest in purchasing the island for use as a work-house. Any such purchase would have to be approved by the state. In January 1884 state senator Frederick S. Gibbs introduced a bill in the state senate authorizing the commission to purchase the island. In May 1884 Governor Grover Cleveland signed a bill authorizing the Commissioner of Charities and Corrections to purchase the island for a sum no greater than $180,000. At the time, the island was within the boundaries of Long Island City, which was located in Queens County, which was not yet part of New York City, and this potential transfer set off squabbling between politicians of Long Island City, Queens County, and New York City. On July 31, 1884, a compromise was agreed to by all three entities, New York City agreed to pay a total of $3,000, to be disbursed as $2,500 to Long Island City and $500 to Queens County. On August 4, 1884, the Commissioner of Charities and Corrections, Jacob Hess, signed a contract purchasing the island from John T. Wilson, a descendant of the Ryker family, for $180,000: $179,000 to Wilson and $1,000 for a title search.
caption: Aerial photo of Rikers Island, photographed from the North. LaGuardia Airport and its 4/22 runway stretch is visible, 250 feet (76 meters) from the island. Shea Stadium can be seen across Flushing Bay.
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