By Dan Krauth, December 5, 2023

“A court-appointed federal monitor which oversees Rikers Island filed a scathing special report, accusing leadership at the jail facility of putting the safety of both inmates and officers at risk.

The nearly 60-page report filed in federal court claims the New York City Department of Corrections opened an Arson Reduction Housing Unit at Rikers last month as a place to put inmates who have a history of setting fires.

Court documents state the city did it without notifying the independent monitor as required, and the new housing unit did not have a working fire suppression system.

The documents state, “The failure to consult in this case was not just a bureaucratic failure. This housing unit posed a serious risk of harm to those incarcerated and to staff.”

The chair of the City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee agrees.

“It makes you think, is it a disdain for accountability or is it just deep, deep culture of dysfunction and mismanagement,” Carlina Rivera said. “It’s kind of hard to wrap your brain around something that is so dangerous for incarcerated and staff. There was a week in September where there were 15 fires on Rikers Island, that was in the federal monitors report, and they also had a fire in April that actually injured 20 people.”

Read more: https://abc7ny.com/rikers-island-fire-inmates-suppression-system/14145344