A 39-year-old man died while in custody at Rikers Island on Wednesday morning, marking the first reported death at the troubled jail since Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office.
Barry Cozart died while incarcerated at the George R. Vierno Center, the city’s Department of Correction said Wednesday evening.
Cozart had been held at Rikers since his arrest in November on charges including burglary, criminal trespass and petit larceny, according to court records. He pleaded not guilty and was awaiting his next court appearance.
His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A correction officer found Cozart in need of medical aid that morning, according to the agency. Staff called for assistance and performed CPR, but he could not be revived and was pronounced dead at 11:33 a.m.
The cause of death has not yet been determined. The department said it notified several oversight agencies, including the state attorney general, the city Department of Investigation and the Board of Correction.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was troubled by the death and called for transparency and accountability.
“While we do not yet know the cause of death, too many have died on Rikers Island for far too long,” Mamdani said on social media. “Rikers must close, and we will pursue every avenue to do so as quickly as possible.”
The death comes at a turbulent time for Rikers. The jail complex was originally expected to close next year, but the plan to replace it with a borough-based jail system has stalled, raising questions about how the city will proceed.
It also comes as the Mamdani administration has proposed increasing the Department of Correction’s budget by 5%.
Advocacy groups criticized the proposal and the lack of a clear timeline to close Rikers.
“To prevent more deaths, Rikers must be shut down,” said Yonah Zeitz, advocacy director of the Katal Center for Equity, Health and Justice. “To shut down Rikers, the city must pass a budget that cuts the jail population and invests in real community safety: housing, health care, including mental health care, education, and jobs.”
Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards expressed condolences to Cozart’s family.
“This tragedy weighs heavily on me and on every member of this Department,” Richards said. “I extend my deepest condolences to his loved ones. Our sorrow over his loss is immeasurable.”
At least 15 people died in custody at Rikers last year. A federal monitor found many of those deaths involved lapses in supervision, staff failing to follow basic procedures and delays in emergency response.
