A judge's scathing ruling Wednesday moves New York City's troubled Rikers Island jail complex a step closer to a federal takeover. Judge Laura Taylor Swain found the city and the Department of Correction in civil contempt over 18 separate claims of failing to rectify use of force and safety issues.

A federal judge held New York City in contempt of court Wednesday for failing to improve conditions at Rikers and other jails — and her scathing ruling says she’s now “inclined” to place the entire correctional system under federal control.

The judge found that conditions have only continued to worsen at the jail complex, setting up a potential federal takeover.

The extraordinary intervention would cede control of one of the nation’s largest, most notorious jail systems.

While plans are on track to close Rikers Island by 2027, a federal judge ordered the city to submit proposals for structural reform to remedy its noncompliance with orders to stop civil rights abuses at the notorious jail.

A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday said she is “inclined” to appoint a federal receiver to oversee the use of force and safety on Rikers Island — moving the jail complex the closest it has ever been to federal control.

In September, Judge Swain directed city officials to begin developing a plan for a possible federal takeover of Rikers Island.

New York City was found in contempt Wednesday over “grave” conditions at Rikers Island — as a judge said she was “inclined” to order a federal takeover of the troubled jail complex. The scathing 65-page contempt order by Manhattan federal Judge Laura Taylor Swain blasted the city for rising deaths of inmates,

A Manhattan federal judge in a long-running lawsuit against the city’s beleaguered Department of Correction ruled Wednesday that a third-party “receiver” be appointed to oversee use-of-force and safety issues in the city’s jails.