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NEW YORK - New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the expansion of the city’s "Next Mile NYC" program to people in custody on Rikers Island on Monday.

The initiative will provide Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training to eligible inmates so that they may secure employment after release, according to a press release from the mayor's office. 

What they're saying:

"Expanding ‘Next Mile NYC’ to Rikers Island will create real pathways from incarceration to stable, well-paying jobs," Mamdani said in a statement. "This effort reflects our administration’s belief that public safety comes from opportunity and investment in people — not just incarceration —while restoring dignity through meaningful work and building a safer, more just city."

A view of Rikers Island on a winter morning, as seen from a passenger flight leaving LaGuardia Airport, January 31, 2026, in the borough of Queens, New York City. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Through a partnership with Emerge Career, eligible individuals will complete a 40-hour online training while in custody and finish hands-on instruction and testing after leaving Rikers, per the press release.

"Stable employment is one of the strongest predictors of success upon returning to community," Deanna Logan, director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice said in a statement.

"By equipping participants with in-demand skills and connecting them directly to employers, individuals are exiting cycles of incarceration and returning to neighborhoods with a stronger workforce foundation that results in safer communities across New York City," she added. 

$2.9 million investment 

What's next:

To accommodate the expansion, the program is getting a big boost in Fiscal Year 2026, with a $2.9 million investment, the release stated. The expansion is expected to help nearly 300 more participants.