Former Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday said he would rather build a new jail complex on Rikers Island than move forward with the current plan to close Rikers and construct borough-based jails.

Speaking at a Crain’s Business Mayoral Forum, Cuomo said the planned closure of Rikers Island was "billions over budget and obsolete," according to a press release distributed by Cuomo's campaign office.

He would instead turn the borough-based jails into residential and commercial complexes that have affordable housing units, childcare centers and retail. The Brooklyn Detention Center, currently being constructed on Atlantic Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, is two years behind schedule, he said.

“Let’s be clear: Rikers in its current form must be closed —it is a human rights violation: Outdated,

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