Photographer unknown
Anna M. Kross (inset) and the infamous Tombs Prison in downtown Manhattan, seen in 1907.
Anna M. Kross broke gender barriers and charted new territory in making city jails humane. But the Rikers facility named in her honor is at the center of the city’s failure to honor her legacy in treating the mentally ill.
Melissa Mark-Viverito is launching a commission to look at alternatives. The rationale for—and complexities in—shuttering the island of jails was the focus of a November City & State/City Limits series.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
