1.) How are you connected to this movement?

I was one of the cofounders of this movement. And the reason that this movement started is because several people like me had issues with Rikers Island and saw, for whatever reasons, people sitting there for too long waiting for trial, people who didn't have discovery papers or documents. There was violence. There were so many problems on Rikers Island that relatives or people who had been on Rikers Island and came out, it was too much to deal with and think that it was okay, that it was going to change or reform.

We realized that this problem on Rikers Island was going on for decades. There were articles in newspapers from the 1950s, the 60s, and the problems were the same, and they were just getting worse. So, myself and other people who were enduring the same violence and the same issues, we got together and we started discussing it. And then we decided to go speak about it. We decided to close Rikers, there is no other way that this penal colony can be reformed. Penal colonies don't get reformed! They need to shut down, there is no other way. And we went back to looking at newspapers from the 1950s, what was going on in the 30s, what was going on in the 40s? It never changes, it's only getting worse.

And so we decided we wanted to close Rikers. Some people looked at us like we were crazy - "How you gonna close Rikers?" At the time that we started the movement, there were, I believe, about 8-9,000 people on Rikers, maybe more. I mean, I know that the time that my son was there, there were even 10-11,000 on Rikers Island. So it was bad. It was overcrowded, violence, not enough food and not enough heating. They were treated worse than animals. People say they're treated like animals - No, because even animals are not treated that way. There are movements and organizations that protect animals. But nobody's protecting humans. Humans protect animals, but they don't protect their own?

I participated in the Lippman Commission, and I gave several testimonies about visiting Rikers and what we visitors go through to visit our loved ones. We go through hell as visitors, and I have witnessed horrible things done to visitors and to medics.

2.) Why should Rikers close?

Because there is no way to reform a penal colony. There is no way you can reform an infamous island that I have seen compared to Guantanamo Bay. And you know what? Yes, Rikers Island is the New York City Guantanamo Bay. I've seen the comparison and that struck me when I heard that comparison, because I believe that's exactly what it is. It's a penal colony where it's tucked away, nobody sees what's going on because it's far enough to be away from the eyes of the regular citizen who walks by and doesn't know what's going on.

Some people don't even know where Rikers Island is. I was one of them. I heard of Rikers Island. I had no idea where it was. And when my son ended up on Rikers Island, I actually had to Google it and find out where it was, how to get there. I had no idea of its location. When I realized that it's in the water between Queens and Bronx, actually not that far away from the five boroughs, close to two boroughs, I was surprised of its location. It's not that far, but it takes forever to get there. It's not easy to reach because it is a penal colony, they want to keep it away from mass transit. They don't want to keep it near the courts or near where people live, not because it's dangerous but because they can use it to create more violence. Then of course it becomes dangerous, because they create the violence by keeping it away from everybody's reach.

3.) What is your vision for a more just and equitable post-Rikers New York City?

We need to shut it down immediately, but it's also true that in this society that we live in, it's impossible to go from Rikers Island to having no place to put people who will still have to deal with the criminal justice system and with the courts. Some people will unfortunately have to stay away from society, but that doesn't mean that they need to be put away and forgotten, or be put away and abused. We need to have more just and humane buildings to put people who need to stay away from society. But these buildings are not supposed to be a penal colony, or they're not supposed to be places where people get punished by correctional officers without having even been convicted yet, because Rikers Island, even though it is a penal colony, in reality is a place where people stay while they're waiting for trial. So that means people are innocent until proven guilty.

If people are innocent until proven guilty, and they may need, in some cases, to be away from society, they need to be in a humane place because they don't need to lose their life or their rights, or their integrity or their humanity. They can be in buildings or places in the city near the courts, because that's where they need to go for their day in court, right? They need to go to court. Why are they tucked away in an island far away from everyone? No, they need to be in the city, close to the courts where they can be reached and visited by their relatives, by their friends, by their attorney, and to be treated humanely. And that's why I am for the borough jails, because even though they're called borough jails, I should not even call them jails because they shouldn't be called jails. They should be borough facilities or justice centers, where people who end up there waiting for trial and they have no bail, at least they can enrich themselves with some programs or be part of society.

For example, if they need to go to school, there should be schooling for them. Some of them may need nursing services or medical services. There should be centers where they have many different kinds of services for people who have to stay in a facility waiting for trial, and they need to be treated humanely. They shouldn't be mistreated at all. They should be helped while they're waiting for trial and integrated with society, because when they come out and they do come out, most of the people who end up in Rikers Island. Most of them come out and they go back to their neighborhoods, and they go back traumatized worse than when they went in. So they should go to a facility where they are actually helped - checked with nurses, checked for mental health if they need to, have programs to work programs at schooling, whatever it is the person needs to continue their life, so that then when they come out they can just go back into society and be helpful and productive citizens like everyone else. They shouldn't be thrown in a penal colony, be abused and then come back out and go home back to the streets.