AS CITY HALL ANNOUNCES DELAYS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BOROUGH BASED JAILS, FORMERLY INCARCERATED LEADERS AND ALLIES CALL FOR ACTION TO EXPEDITE THE CLOSURE OF RIKERS ISLAND
The Adams administration yesterday filed public notice of contracts for the Queens and Bronx borough-based jails indicating substantial delays in their completion. The proposed contracts allow for approximately 7 years to complete each building - four years beyond the 2027 legal deadline to close Rikers. This comes after news that the administration is also planning to increase capacity in each of the four borough jails, with a three-fold increase to the capacity for women in the Queens jail.
In response, members of the Campaign to Close Rikers issued the following statements:
Darren Mack, Co-Director of Freedom Agenda said, “This administration has consistently undermined its legal and moral obligation to close Rikers and complete construction of the borough-based jail system by the mandated deadline of 2027. In the meantime, thirty one people have died and countless others have experienced abuse, neglect, and violence at the Rikers Island penal colony on the Mayor’s watch. He also keeps saying people with mental health needs shouldn’t be in jail, but keeps pursuing policies that are sending more of them to the living hell that is Rikers. He needs to get to work on providing people with the treatment they need and deserve, and get Rikers closed on time. The 2027 deadline is not an option, it’s a requirement.”
“Tripling the capacity of women’s beds at the Queens jail is an unmistakable sign of bad faith from this Mayor toward women and gender-expansive people in our city’s jails,” said Rev. Sharon White-Harrigan, Executive Director of the Women’s Community Justice Association. “WCJA and the Commission on Community Reinvestment have provided many proven strategies for providing supportive housing, mental health treatment, and diversion programs that can provide stability for our most vulnerable citizens and safely reduce the number of people held in captivity while awaiting their day in court.”
Megan French-Marcelin, Senior Director of NYS Policy at Legal Action Center said, “The proposed timeline for the construction of the Queens and Bronx jails is unconscionable when we have watched buildings go up all over the City in a matter of months or years. For far too long, this city has made the choice to deal with social and health disparities by warehousing its vulnerable residents on a toxic island. There is no way to justify delaying these jails while New Yorkers continue to experience rampant abuse and neglect, all the while not receiving access to vital mental health and treatment supports. If we want to support a safer, more just New York, the city should expedite the borough jails while also investing in diversion and alternative programs better suited to serve New Yorkers with mental health and housing needs.”
"This is absolutely unacceptable,” said Freedom Agenda member Tamara Carter, whose son Brandon Rodriguez died at Rikers. “There have been too many deaths on Rikers Island, and no mental health resources or regular medical care. We need Rikers Island to close on time, and all borough-based jails open on time and suitable for those who are detained."
“Delaying completion of the Queens and Bronx jails is shameful and unlawful. Mayor Adams is failing in his responsibility to advance the plan to close Rikers. Since taking office, he has proposed defunding ATIs and preventative programs – effective interventions for reducing incarceration, expanded the capacity of the borough-based jails by reducing space dedicated for specialized mental health units, and agreed to contracts that will result in people being incarcerated at Rikers Island long after the closure deadline,” said Jennifer J. Parish, Director of Criminal Justice Advocacy at Urban Justice Center Mental Health Project. “There is a realistic plan for reducing the jail population to meet the target of fewer than 3300 individuals incarcerated in City jails, and a critical component is prioritizing decarceration of people with mental health concerns and expanding supportive housing and community mental health supports. The City Council and the public must hold the mayor accountable for his legal obligation to close Rikers by 2027.”
“The Mayor's administration's delays and breaches of the law regarding the establishment of borough-based jails are not just unacceptable but also deeply troubling, especially to communities and families like mine who have been harmed for decades by Rikers Island, and considering the ongoing loss of lives under their watch,” said Ashley Abadia-Santiago Conrad, Community Organizer with Freedom Agenda. “By failing to fulfill their legal obligations, they are not only disregarding the mandate entrusted to them by the public but also contributing to the perpetuation of a system that undermines justice and human rights. The continued deaths within the administration's purview highlight the urgent need for accountability and swift action to rectify these failures, ensuring that the safety and well-being of all individuals are prioritized above bureaucratic inertia.”
"Rikers has harmed far too many people already. It must close by 2027. Rather than delaying the construction of new jails, we need to accelerate our efforts to reduce incarceration, particularly of people with mental illness. By expanding proven alternatives to incarceration that provide intensive mental health treatment to those who need it, we can reduce the jail population, increase health and wellbeing, and improve community safety. People with mental illness need treatment, not jail," said Jonathan McLean, President & CEO of CASES, a national leader in alternatives to incarceration for people with mental illness.
Corinne Santiago-Conrad, member of Freedom Agenda said “This is beyond unacceptable and deplorable. Rikers Island must be closed! It is a constant reminder to the families of loved ones who lost their lives due to the lack of resources in our communities. One of those too many lives lost at Rikers Island was the son of Tamara Carter, Brandon Rodriguez, whose story screams in volume that Rikers Island must be closed and this Mayor and administration prioritize following the law. All replacement borough based jails need to open and not be further delayed, provide services and resources suitable for each person individually, Rikers Island for decades now has not provided any resource in fact has escalated each and every issue situation and it is essential to the safety of New Yorkers and future generations to come that it closes on time, if not before!”
“Closing Rikers Island on time is the only way to end the humanitarian disaster that thousands of our fellow New Yorkers face there each and every day, at a cost per person per year of well over half a million taxpayer dollars. Thirty-one people have died in DOC custody since Mayor Adams took office. Further, young adults there are denied the programming and education to which they are entitled, and the administration’s policy seems to consist of cutting beneficial funding, sending people with increasingly serious mental health conditions to the Island, and delay, delay, delay. It is well past time to decarcerate and complete construction of the borough jails in accordance with the law the City Council passed nearly five years ago,” said Daniele Gerard, senior staff attorney, Children’s Rights.
Reverend Wendy Calderon-Payne, Executive Director, Urban Youth Alliance (BronxConnect) said, “A completion date of 2031 for the Bronx and Queens borough-based jails underscores a lack of dedication to equity and reducing incarceration rates. Rikers Island presents an urgent public health crisis, with more than half of detainees diagnosed with mental illness. Despite being ill equipped to address this reality, Rikers Island is the largest provider of psychiatric services in New York City. As such, the borough-based jail system should not only be urgently prioritized, but it should also maximize therapeutic housing units and hospital beds in a way that reflects the immense health and mental health needs of the people it will detain. In addition to the speedy closure of Rikers, the City must allocate considerable resources towards successful community-driven alternatives that address the root causes of incarceration.”
“To those celebrating Passover on Rikers Island this year, the seder in a dilapidated gym on the Island was a momentary taste of freedom from fear of being cut or jumped, or being harassed by guards. Sending young people and the mentally ill to this vast, run-down, and chaotic carceral environment for another three years is too long. Sending people there until 2031--the date the Administration gave yesterday for the borough-based jail completion--is illegal, immoral and abhorrent,” said Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer, Executive Director of the Interfaith Center of New York.
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