‘Rikers Island has been a human rights atrocity since the 1930s, and we are closer than ever to closing it.’
‘The ‘Build New Jails’ advocates have adopted a two-step Bait and Switch political strategy that is oddly familiar.’
Not so fast. With Raise the Age going into effect this week, the city’s 16- and 17-year-olds in custody are just moving from one jail to another.
‘We must recognize that the culture of violence exists on Rikers Island – and will continue to exist in the new borough facilities that will be built – if concrete measures aren’t taken to directly address and effectively reduce the violence that exists currently.’
In the wake of a state budget that whiffed on criminal justice reform, Gov. Cuomo has continued to chide Mayor de Blasio for sticking to a 10-year timeline for closing Rikers Island that the governor believes is too slow.
Also: Marking the anniversary of Malcolm X’s death.
After a 2017 New York City election season devoid of suspense, Elizabeth Crowley was on the on the wrong side of the only real drama on election night.
While there’s a lot of discussion about where new jails might go, the heavier lift might be figuring out how to release enough violent-felony defendants to allow the city to move detainees off the island.
A writer currently incarcerated on the island writes that re-establishing similarly flawed facilities elsewhere will displace the problems on Rikers, but won’t dispense with them.
Whether the timeline is three years or 10, a former Correction captain lays out the issues facing policymakers, officers and inmates.