In Florida I met a criminal attorney from New York who described making client visits to Rikers on occasion and his view was that it was a pretty bad place, that it smelled about as bad as any human institution could possibly smell, but that there were shades of difference depending on which cell block you were in. I recall he said there were technically 10 different jails, which while under the umbrella of "Rikers" were somewhat autonomously managed, each of a different vintage, etc., which made them all a bit different.

But the main takeaway was that it was overcrowded no matter where you were.

(And no - unfortunately, he had no mob stories to share whatsoever. Yes I did ask.)