Riker's Island
A proper purgatory for criminals (and those falsely accused) of all stripes, small Riker's Island sits in the middle of the East River, a stone's throw from LaGuardia airport, a dreary processing depot for those folks awaiting or denied bail for crimes committed in the city's jurisdiction--a staggering 130,000 people each year. The facility is actually a network of jails, thrown together improvisationally as the prison population expanded in the post-war, and particularly post-Moses era (two old Staten Island ferries, docked on the island, hold 162 prisoners each), and is sometimes called a city itself. The world's largest jail.
Dali sent a painting to the inmates of Riker's Island. Of course it was stolen. But the thief may surprise you.
