City officials pitched a plan Thursday night for borough-based jails that will open once Rikers Island is closed.

The plan was discussed at a Community Board 1 meeting in Mott Haven at the Metropolitan College of New York. Critics brought their opposition to the plan, as they have for years.

City officials say the facilities will boast a modern look, calling that a moral imperative. They say Rikers was designed in a different era when the point of a jail was retribution instead of rehabilitation.

They believe creating a smaller system can help people reenter society, and reduce the rate of future crime.

In the back of the meeting, protesters silently held signs expressing their disagreement with the jails. They think the city should be funding communities, not jails.

The proposed Bronx jail would be located on East 141st Street near Concord Avenue. It would replace the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center.