CAMPAIGN TO CLOSE RIKERS DECRIES THE MAYOR’S PLANS TO REDUCE THERAPEUTIC HOUSING UNITS AND INCREASE DETENTION CAPACITY IN REPLACEMENT BOROUGH JAILS
WNYC reported this afternoon that the Adams’ administration has directed its selected design-build firm to design for 1,040 beds in the jail that will replace the Brooklyn Detention Complex, currently undergoing demolition. This represents an increase of 154 beds from the 886 beds planned for Brooklyn in the Close Rikers plan approved in October 2019. In response, partners in the Campaign to Close Rikers released the following statement.
Darren Mack, Co-Director of Freedom Agenda, said, "Mayor Adams ran for office saying he would get Rikers closed, but has been doing everything in his power to fill it up with more and more people struggling with addiction, mental health needs, and unstable housing. Now he's pointing to a jail population that is inflated because of his failed policies, and trying to use it to justify efforts to add more beds to the replacement borough jails. This is a problem of his own making. He hasn't even taken the first steps to put in place solutions that actually support public safety - like opening up 380 more units of Justice Involved Supportive Housing, as outlined in the Close Rikers agreement passed in 2019. But instead the Mayor wants to cut out therapeutic housing units to fit more beds into the jails? It's shameful and tragic."
Megan French-Marcelin, Senior Director of Policy at Legal Action Center, said, “It is truly unconscionable that the City would add to the overall bed count of the planned Brooklyn borough jail while diminishing the therapeutic units. More than half the current Rikers population has a mental health disorder and yet Mayor Adams would, without public input, try to limit the very access to treatment that is needed. In the wake of three more deaths at Rikers and amid abuse and neglect so rampant that the Department of Justice has indicated that it will file for contempt against the City, Mayor Adams has found new ways to increase the vast web of our criminal legal system and its abuses.”
Kandra Clark, VP of Policy & Strategy at Exodus Transitional Community, said, “Since 1999, Exodus has been fighting to not only transform our criminal legal system, but also to end the stigma people with conviction histories experience. As experts, we understand the root causes of incarceration, and that over half of our fellow New Yorkers on Rikers Island are suffering with poor mental health. We have the solutions; however, they are not being funded to scale. We have asked for more justice involved supportive housing, investments in alternatives-to-incarceration, and culture change within the Department of Corrections. Instead, what we have received from this administration is an over-reliance on incarceration, massive cuts to nonprofit providers who have been doing this work for decades, and a DOC culture where you can enter Rikers for a minor mistake and leave in a casket. This Administration should be ashamed of ignoring those closest to the solution, allowing thousands of New Yorkers to languish in torture instead of receiving the support they deserve, and now trying to alter the borough jails plan because of their policy failures.”
Chaplain Dr. Victoria A. Phillips – Dr. V, Community, Health & Justice Organizer, Urban Justice Center Mental Health Project, said, “It is preposterous that the Mayor's initial step toward implementing the proposed closure of Rikers Island entails adding more beds to the borough-based jails. The cornerstone of closing Rikers Island involves reducing the overall population. This necessitates allocating additional resources towards addressing mental health issues, thereby fostering the rehabilitation of individuals in the community. Despite promising to prioritize the well-being of individuals, the Mayor has neglected to allocate the necessary resources for the provision of support services. These services include both supportive housing and wrap-around services, which have proven effective in enhancing the overall well-being of individuals. Regrettably, the Adams administration has thus far failed to open the 380 units of justice involved supportive housing that were agreed upon in the Close Rikers plan. This inaction is particularly concerning given the rising prevalence of mental health concerns amongst New York City residents, with approximately one in five currently facing such concerns. By failing to address the immediate mental health needs of these individuals, the Mayor is perpetuating a public health crisis. The incarceration of individuals with mental health concerns, rather than providing them with appropriate care and support, is not only inhumane but also counterproductive. Instead of promoting healing and holistic community development, the Mayor's approach undermines the very foundations of a compassionate and just society. Where is NYC's moral compass? It is incumbent on the Mayor to reassess his priorities and commit to implementing comprehensive measures aimed at reducing the city's jail capacity, rather than expanding it.”
Reverend Wendy Calderon Payne, Executive Director, Urban Youth Alliance (BronxConnect), said, “This change to increase the overall bed count in the Borough based jails while reducing the therapeutic access is a major step back from the reason for this plan. With many of those held at Rikers having mental health concerns this seems to be a short-sighted solution. Reducing the jail population is the only rational answer in a time where ballooning numbers of incarcerated individuals and staffing shortfalls have contributed to the sorry state Rikers is currently in. Why would the city move forward with a plan to further perpetuate current issues? It is time for common sense to prevail, we know what has not worked. Let's invest our efforts and funding on what does.”
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