Union rips Rikers closure as gift for the rich

The union head who represents Rikers Island correction officers slammed plans to close the jail complex as nothing more than a “political con game” and a “land grab” that would enrich real-estate developers.

Elias Husamudeen, president of the Correction Offic- ers’ Benevolent Association, said Sunday the plan has nothing to do with helping blacks and Latinos, as some have argued, but “everything to do with business.”

Husamudeen noted a report overseen by former New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman that called for the closure of Rikers within 10 years — and its claim that the city and state stand to gain $17 billion if the island is repurposed for use by La Guardia Airport.

“There’s so much wrong with this,” Husamudeen told John Catsimatidis on his Sunday AM 970 radio show.

Husamudeen pointed to the makeup of the Lippman commission, charging that only two people on it have experience with jails.

“The majority of the people on your committee are realestate developers,” he said.

The commission included members with ties to groups like LatinoJustice, the Legal Aid Society, the US Attorney’s Office and the Westchester County Department of Correction — plus the CEO of real-estate firm Forest City Ratner.

Both Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo support closing Rikers.