FOUR YEARS FROM LEGALLY MANDATED CLOSURE OF RIKERS, ELECTED OFFICIALS, FORMERLY INCARCERATED LEADERS AND ALLIES LAUNCH COUNTDOWN AND CALL ON THE ADMINISTRATION TO TAKE ALL NECESSARY ACTIONS TO COMPLY
LINK TO COUNTDOWN AND NEW POLICY BRIEF
Exactly four years before the legally mandated deadline to close Rikers Island by August 31, 2027, elected officials and members of the Campaign to Close Rikers gathered to kick off the countdown to closing Rikers. Speakers pressed the administration to take all necessary steps to comply with the legal and moral mandate to close Rikers by August 31, 2027. These include expediting the construction process of borough based jails and outposted therapeutic housing units, and substantially expanding funding for and utilization of initiatives proven to reduce incarceration and increase community safety, including supportive housing, community-based mental health and substance use treatment, pre-trial diversion and alternative to incarceration programs, and re-entry supports.
The Adams Administration has consistently questioned, and undermined, its mandate to close Rikers by 2027. This includes a steadily increasing jail population, even as the percentage of people with documented mental health issues at Rikers continues to increase. The Mayor’s administration has forecasted 2029 opening of the facility to replace the Brooklyn Detention Complex, while trying to increase the capacity of the facility by 154 beds while reducing therapeutic housing units by nearly 50%. And his office and Department of Correction have repeatedly attempted to limit transparency about the conditions inside Rikers and undermine the oversight capacity of the Board of Correction.
“When we voted to close Rikers in 2019, we voted for a safer and more just city. We cannot stray from that path as a moral imperative, legal imperative, and fiscal imperative. Reducing the jail population through diversion programs and treatment, successfully closing crumbling facilities that have long fostered violence, and distributing a greater share of the City’s resources will increase public safety and justice,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said, "The administration is focusing on trying to change the mandate to close Rikers, rather than taking the necessary steps to actually close it – especially decarceration. This is not an isolated issue. Whether providing support services that help people, or banning solitary confinement that harms them, the administration continues to oppose the very practices that will protect public safety on the island and facilitate positive, productive reentry for those leaving it. The best thing for everyone on Rikers is to close it down."
“New Yorkers cannot afford to wait a day longer than planned for the closure of Rikers,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “When I served on the City Council, I voted for the closure of Rikers Island. Now, the Mayor has a legal and moral obligation to do just that. We must end the humanitarian crisis happening on Rikers. The Mayor must stop dragging his feet and deliver for New Yorkers by following the City Council’s mandate.”
“The inhumane hellhole that is Rikers Island needs to close. Period. Our focus as a city should be on making that happen,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “Rather than postponing the legally mandated closure deadline, we need to work together to make sure that deadline is met. Our city has a legal and moral obligation to treat detainees humanely, and this can only be achieved if Rikers Island is closed and replaced.”
“Rikers as an institution has been proven to not work and immediate action must be taken to ensure we do not stray off course from the 2027 deadline,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. “During my time in the City Council, I joined my colleagues in voting to close Rikers because we saw the humanitarian crisis occurring at this facility and knew it was imperative for a plan to be created that would reduce the detainee population and ensure the safety of everyone on the island. As the 2027 deadline approaches, I urge the administration to identify ways in which we can safely and swiftly close Rikers once and for all.”
“We must not let anything get in the way of finally closing Rikers in 2027,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “The City has a legal and moral duty to once and for all put an end to the humanitarian crisis that is Rikers. By working together, we can ensure that the 2027 deadline is met and provide alternatives to Rikers.”
“Regarding the legal requirement to close the jails on Rikers Island by August 2027, this administration bears the burden of demonstrating that they’ve marshaled every possible resource to keep the plan to transition to borough based jails on track, including reducing the jail population, minimizing process and construction times, and planning for a just transition for dedicated City workers. A failure to implement this law is not only unacceptable, it’s an alarming signal that an overreliance on incarceration will become this mayoral administration’s legacy. Rikers is an ongoing humanitarian crisis that subjects both staff and incarcerated people to danger, and this body and frankly, every stakeholder, should remain firmly committed to working with the administration to identify ways we can ensure that Rikers closes on time,” said Council Member Carlina Rivera, Chair of the Committee on Criminal Justice.
“The City Council has clearly communicated the necessity of closing Rikers by 2027, irrespective of the viewpoints held by the current administration,” stated Diana Ayala, Deputy Speaker of the New York City Council. “The conditions at Rikers have raised significant concerns, prompting ongoing discussions within the courts about the potential transfer of management to federal authorities. As the deadline approaches, it's important to initiate the process of reducing the jail population and craft a considerate plan to ensure the closure of Rikers can be executed smoothly and in a timely manner.”
“As the four-year countdown until the deadline of Rikers closing begins, it is imperative that we remember and heal the wounds inflicted by the past 90 years of injustice. The mandate is clear, both legally and morally: Rikers must close by 2027, and we must begin to decrease the population immediately,” said Council Member Jennifer Gutierrez. “The path ahead demands swift action, including advancing the Renewable Rikers plan, channeling resources to initiatives that support, not incarcerate; and removing thousands of New Yorkers from Rikers' dangerous and deadly conditions. Our next four years cannot include dozens of more lives lost - we must act now.”
“With four years away from the legally mandated closing of Rikers Island, the City must take the necessary steps to ensure that we stay on track to safely close this institution that has been a source of mass incarceration, racial discrimination and disparity, violence and trauma,” said Council Member Kevin C. Riley. “The plan to close Rikers Island by 2027 is important and tied to the interconnected needs for greater investments and resources for public safety in New York City. I stand with my colleagues, advocates and all families negatively affected by the injustices of Rikers calling for comprehensive rehabilitation, funding and supportive resources well-founded in providing alternatives to incarceration. As the jails on Rikers Island close and we work to support the formerly incarcerated through educational opportunities and supportive services, it is important that we emphasize a linkage to jobs, housing and wraparound services to support re-entry and healthy families. Let’s continue to work together to move the needle to close Rikers in 2027.”
"We have 4 years left to close down the Riker's Island Jail Complex and advance the vision of Renewable Rikers, as mandated by law. Today, Riker's continues to have egregious conditions that do not address the basic health and medical needs of detainees. We know that people have died on Rikers and that these conditions are further deteriorating. We must demand action and we must close down Rikers to meet the City's legal and moral mandates," said Council Member Sandy Nurse.
“In 2019, our elected representatives set our City on a path to close Rikers Island. Our City Councilmembers correctly decided that if our City was ever going to heal from the traumas of racial injustice and mass incarceration, we need to close Rikers Island and start reducing our City’s jail population,” said Council Member Shahana Hanif. “Our City is legally mandated to close Rikers by 2027, but with four years until its closure, Mayor Adams is attempting to keep this corrupt and dangerous institution alive. I’m proud to stand in solidarity with my colleagues, criminal justice advocates, and formerly incarcerated New Yorkers to demand this City follow its own laws and close Rikers once and for all.”
Council Member Alexa Avilés said, “With the death count this year at 8, the time is now to close Rikers down. Any arguments by the Mayor including ballooning costs as a rationale to stop a plan that is already four years in motion is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Rikers is a humanitarian catastrophe, which needs to be dismantled. The current and historical costs of this profound policy failure pale in comparison to doing what is right and just. We must stay the course. We must close Rikers.”
“Rikers Island is beyond just a criminal legal system issue,” said Freedom Agenda Co-Director Darren Mack. “It’s a human rights crisis. It’s not only a legal obligation to shutter this stain on our City but it’s a moral imperative. As we set off the countdown to close Rikers by 2027, New Yorkers are demanding Mayor Adams take action now to end the suffering that Rikers is inflicting on our communities. Other elected officials are ready to help him, but right now we need the Mayor to demonstrate leadership to make real investments in upstream solutions, bring down the jail population, expedite the borough-based plan, and Get Rikers Closed!”
“My son has been in and out of Rikers for most of his life because of mental health needs that were never adequately addressed. In our Brooklyn community, there were never any real resources to deal with mental health. Maybe someone would give him some medication here and there, but no real quality treatment or anything to really address his needs. And that lack of treatment landed my son on Rikers Island, where absolutely none of his needs are being met,” said Loray Hodge, a member of Freedom Agenda. “With all the money Mayor Adams is willing to spend keeping my son on Rikers, he could get the best quality treatment, we could have healthier communities, and we could have real public safety. Get stuff done, get Rikers closed!
“Voted into law in 2019, the plan to close Rikers Island jail complex has survived two administrations, a land-use process and a pandemic," said Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer, Director of the Interfaith Center of New York. “It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s the best plan we have developed as a city thus far. And to see this plan through to completion by 2027 will take courage and leadership from our elected officials, if we are to expedite construction of borough based jails and outposted therapeutic units, create more supportive housing and to permanently close empty jails on Rikers. The work starts now.”
Megan French-Marcelin, Senior Director of NYS Policy at the Legal Action Center said, “Today, we stand united with one message: Rikers must be shuttered, and must be shuttered by the legal deadline. There is no more time to sit idly as New Yorkers are tortured and die in conditions that can only be described as a human rights travesty. We must use all resources at hand to build out the infrastructure necessary to utilize alternatives to incarceration wherever possible, as well as to provide access to treatment, healthcare, and housing. We have four years to Close Rikers. We will and we must.”
"Rikers is an inhumane institution that harms everyone there. It must close by the legal deadline," said Nadia Chait, Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy at CASES. "We must use every resource the City has to build out proven alternatives to incarceration, including providing robust access to mental health services and housing. Incarcerating people in a corrupt and violent jail is not what makes our City safe. Instead, the Adams administration must close Rikers by 2027 and substantially increase access to alternatives over the next four years."
“Closing Rikers is not only about ending the torturous conditions on Rikers; it is also about turning away from mass incarceration. For the three decades before Mayor Adams took office, NYC demonstrated that we can decrease the jail population and maintain public safety. We have the tools to do it - we just need the political will,” said Jennifer J. Parish, Director of Criminal Justice Advocacy, Urban Justice Center Mental Health Project. “By funding supportive housing, pre-trial diversion, and alternatives to incarceration that serve people with mental health concerns, we can stop warehousing people with mental health treatment needs - currently more than 53% of the jail population. We need to do this now more than ever. The recent jail deaths of people with mental health challenges demonstrate that the City cannot even keep people in its custody alive. We must take immediate action to end this humanitarian crisis.”
“The culture of our judicial system should focus more on restoration and healing instead of criminalizing and punishing us for our socioeconomic background or generational trauma. No more criminalizing survivors of domestic violence, no more entering our communities and killing us because of our mental health challenges, no more setting bails at amounts they know are unaffordable in poverty-stricken communities! No more perpetual trauma,” said Akiana Smith, Community and Court Navigator from Women's Community Justice Association.
“The closure of Rikers Island four years from today is not only a legal requirement but also a moral imperative. The conditions under which people are held in our existing city jails are inhumane and unconscionable with people dying in record numbers. No one who is held there or that works there is safe. In partnership, we can collectively work to reduce the number of people in our city jails. The tremendous cost savings realized could resource more supportive housing, mental health treatment, and other community-based services that have been proven to keep people safely in our communities. The time to close Rikers may be four years away, but the time to act is now, because lives are at stake,” said Andre Ward, Associate Vice President of The David Rothenberg Center at The Fortune Society.
“Mayor Adams has all he needs to follow through with the plan to close Rikers Island on time! The construction process of borough based jails must be expedited. Furthermore, the administration should preserve the original borough jail design, with 40% therapeutic housing units, and 886 beds per jail, and ensure that facilities adhere to the established design guidelines. Finally, we could implement 1,500 secure therapeutic beds in hospitals within the next 2 years - safely decarcerating individuals with serious mental illness thus disrupting the mental health-to-prison pipeline that has exacerbated under the Adams Administration. We are tired of excuses and demand action,” said Kandra Clark, Vice President of Policy & Strategy with Exodus Transitional Community.
Reverend Wendy Calderon-Payne, Executive Director, Urban Youth Alliance (BronxConnect) said, Today starts the four year countdown to the deadline to close Rikers. This milestone impresses upon us how little time we have left to do the work to ensure the city stays in compliance with the law. We stand together in calling for the timely closure of a facility that has been the death knell for a record number of people in the past few years. We cannot fiscally or morally afford to double down on a broken system. Our great city needs to prioritize more effective solutions, including therapeutic interventions and proven supportive services that address the root causes of crime.
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