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Closing Rikers

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In 2015, City Limits published the most comprehensive look to date at the political and policy dimensions of closing Rikers Island. Read those stories and our continuing coverage below.

Daily Census of People in NYC Custody
Violence on Rikers: Slashings and Stabbings …. Fights … Assaults on Staff
Search for an incarcerated person in city jails, state prison or federal prison.

arrests

CityViews: Lots of Talk About Closing Rikers, Not Enough About Shutting ‘Broken Windows’

By Theodore Hamm | April 10, 2017

Amidst the splash created by Mayor de Blasio’s pledge to close Rikers, it’s somewhat surprising that there hasn’t been more attention to the future of broken-windows policing.

Closing Rikers

Closing Rikers Goes from Pipe Dream to Policy

By Jarrett Murphy | April 1, 2017

The city will sweat the details for a long time. But let’s give de Blasio his due for putting his stamp on history.

No BackSpace: Shackling Inmates Will Only Make Rikers Violence Worse

By David A. Fullard | March 22, 2017

A veteran DOC officer writes: ‘We simply must develop the will to expend the money for services and staff, rather than on restraint chairs and solitary cells.’

CITY WIRE: THE BLOG

Video: Violence in the City Jails and the Push to Close Rikers

By Jarrett Murphy | October 13, 2016

A reform advocate, a former inmate and the head of the correction officers union discussed where the reforms of Rikers stand, whether they go far enough and what’s driving the surge in violence.

abuse

Open Letter to the Mayor: NIMBY Needn’t Block Plans to Replace Rikers with Jails that Work

By David A. Fullard | June 28, 2016

A former corrections captain maps out a planning process that to create the community detention facilities New York needs.

Homepage Featured

Still Waiting for Rules to Prevent Rape on Rikers

By Annamarya Scaccia | May 17, 2016

Nearly a year ago, the city’s Board of Correction voted to enact revised guidelines to address high rates of sexual abuse in the city’s correctional facilities. The final rule has encountered a chain a delays.

CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS

CityViews: Is Rikers Island Exporting Knife Violence?

By David A. Fullard | April 13, 2016

Is the uptick in knife violence on the streets a reflection of the increase in conflict inside the city’s jails?

CITY WIRE: THE BLOG

Sharpton, Seabrook & Bronx DA Weigh In on Closing Rikers

By Jarrett Murphy | February 23, 2016

Count Rev. Al Sharpton with Mayor de Blasio among the skeptics about the notion of closing Rikers Island.

CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS

CityViews:
Dem Lawmaker Proposes Major Rikers Change

By Daniel J. O'Donnell | February 19, 2016

Some want Rikers to close altogether. The mayor says that’s not a realistic goal. But a Manhattan Assemblyman says the de Blasio administration should at least move pre-trail detainees off the island.

CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS

CityViews:
Shut Down Rikers, and Then What?

By Dee Squalé | February 16, 2016

What’s really behind the push to close Rikers—whether it’s moral clarity or fiscal concern—will determine whether mothballing the island actually makes New York a more humane place.

CITY WIRE: THE BLOG

Is Council Speaker Opening the Door to Closing Rikers?

By Jarrett Murphy | February 12, 2016

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 VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS

CityViews:
NYC Must Allow Rikers Inmates Alleging Sex Abuse to Remain Anonymous

By Natalie Block-Levin | February 8, 2016

Two women allege they were subjected to regular sexual abuse on the island. Naming them would punish the women for coming forward with complaints that have spurred a broader discussion about rape, power and incarceration.

CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS

Op-ed: City Needs a Real Plan to Close Rikers, Lest One Failure Replace Another

By David A. Fullard | January 13, 2016

“Closing Rikers Island is a great idea – but we must have fully operational alternatives in place first, not just some half-baked notions that are destined to fail.”

Investigations

Researching Rikers: Links and Resources

By Jarrett Murphy | November 25, 2015

Read reports, get background, learn more.

Closing Rikers

The Perils and Potential of Closing Rikers Island

By Ed Morales | November 25, 2015

City Limits contacted all 51 members of the City Council, the five borough presidents and the three citywide officials to ask whether they support closing Rikers.

Closing Rikers

Can NYC Reform Rikers Island Without Replacing it?

By Ed Morales | November 25, 2015

The jury is still out on whether reforms – segregating the most violent inmates, a crackdown on smuggling, faster use-of-force investigations – will be effective.

Justice

Jailing New York: A Photo Essay

By Adi Talwar and Jarrett Murphy | November 24, 2015

Read the City & State/ City Limitsseries on “Closing Rikers.”

Closing Rikers

How NYC got Rikers Island and Why it Doesn’t Work

By Ed Morales | November 24, 2015

Rikers’ physical reality, many agree, is a crucial part of its problem.

Closing Rikers

Behind the Growing Calls to Close Rikers Island

By Ed Morales | November 24, 2015

The key question might not be whether the city should live without Rikers, or how it would do so, but whether it has the political will to finish the transformation that has already started.

CITY WIRE: THE BLOG

Correction Dept. Slows Bid to Restrict Rikers Visits

By Jarrett Murphy | June 10, 2015

Citing rising violence, the city’s Department of Correction wants more ability to block visits or curtail physical contact. Opponents say the proposed changes are based on bad data and could do more harm than good.

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through the prism of New York City
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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.

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