Opinion
Opinion: Rikers Crisis Demands Federal Receiver
Gabriel Sayegh |
“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.”
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: The Moral Imperative to Close Rikers Island
Rev. Chloe Breyer |
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.”
City on the Edge: Climate Change and New York
Some Rikers Detainees Had No Air Conditioning During Heat Wave, Lawmakers Say
Liz Donovan |
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.
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: Rejecting the Notion of a ‘Feminist’ Jail for Harlem
Samah Mcgona Sisay |
“Do New York City’s leaders intend to build a new jail every time an old one fails, as it always will? In a city which boasts some of the world’s leading creative, political, and courageous minds, can we not recognize policing and imprisonment as policy failures?”
nyc jails
COVID-19 Surge at Rikers Begins to Decline, But Chaotic Conditions Persist
Jeanmarie Evelly |
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.
nyc jails
Advocates, Attorneys Push Back Against Plan to Transfer Women and Transgender People Off Rikers
Jeanmarie Evelly |
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 and misguided.
Housing and Homelessness
As NYC’s Jail Crisis Worsens, Stable Housing Could Be the Difference Between Rikers and Release
David Brand |
As a deepening humanitarian crisis inside the Rikers Island jail complex fuels efforts to release more detainees, a judge’s decision can come down to one key consideration: Do they have a stable address?
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: To Improve Public Safety in NYC, Send Fewer People to Jail
Jonathan Lippman and Courtney Bryan |
‘Jail separates people from work and family, jeopardizes stable housing, and subjects them to violence, especially in inhumane environments like Rikers. Incarceration must be the option of last resort, used only when it is essential for public safety.’
voting access
Advocates Continue to Press for In-Person Voting at NYC Jails
Ese Olumhense |
Between June 2020 and the end of June 2021, DOC officials submitted nearly 1,800 voter registrations, ballot requests, and ballots to the city Board of Elections on behalf of those detained in the jails. This includes more than 900 completed voter registration forms.
COVID-19
City Officials Push State to Greenlight Vaccinations for New Yorkers in Jails
Nicole Javorsky |
So far, New York State has allowed the city to administer the vaccine only to the highest-risk patients behind bars, only about 100 people as of last week, according to one Correctional Health Services’ official.
