“The next mayor’s commitment to public safety shouldn’t be measured by how many people they jail, but by how they prevent harm before it happens, and reduce incarceration as a result.”
“On Wednesday night, a man held at Rikers Island died—the fifth death in city custody in the last two weeks, and the 12th this year alone. These are not isolated incidents; they are symptoms of a system in collapse.”
“Every assessment and transfer deadline that passes without action delays the benefits of a transformed Rikers Island for all New Yorkers, especially those in the communities that have been directly harmed by unjust criminalization and environmental injustice.”
“Rikers Island is not a necessary institution. There are plans and legislation underway that will remove our neighbors and fellow New Yorkers off of Rikers and into a smaller system borough-based facilities. This would bring families closer to their loved ones, improve conditions for people detained, and end our over-reliance on incarceration.”
“A hearing in federal court could decide whether or not the city, under Mayor Eric Adams, will maintain control of Rikers. The feds should take over.”
The city’s plan to close Rikers by 2027 is “not a perfect plan, but it’s the best plan thus far. And to do the bold and necessary thing—to see this plan through to completion—will take moral courage and political leadership.”
In the week before the recent heatwave, Department of Correction officials testified at a hearing that nearly 200 individuals incarcerated at the jail with conditions that are exacerbated by heat were still without air conditioning.
The 7-day positivity rate in New York City jails was just over 19 percent on Sunday—down from nearly 37 percent just a week prior, the most recent data shows. But the humanitarian crisis at Rikers Island continues unabated, attorneys representing those behind bars testified Tuesday.
‘The number one priority for both city and state government right now must be to create a humane, accessible trauma-responsive center in New York City for the small population of women and gender-expansive people that will remain incarcerated.’
Beginning this week, the city and state will begin transferring around 230 detainees being held at the troubled New York City jail complex to state correctional facilities in Westchester, what they say will help ease the ongoing humanitarian crisis at Rikers. But advocates are worried about the impact of the move, some calling it rushed…