by Courtney Gross, published May 30
It was a quick reaction from the City Council after a devastating report was released by the Rikers federal monitor on Friday evening on the eve of the holiday weekend.
“We’re getting closer and closer to the Department of Correction seeming like they have lost complete control,” Councilwoman Carlina Rivera said.
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by Matt Katz, published May 30
Former Rikers Island detainees and defense attorneys testified at a City Council hearing on Tuesday that incarcerated people charged with crimes are regularly not being brought to their court appearances, even though ensuring that they get to court is the primary reason why they are held before trial.
Councilmembers said it is unclear exactly how many make their court appearances, since state court data conflicts with stats reported by the Department of Correction, but it appears that appearance rates for incarcerated people are
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published May 30, 2023
A City Council hearing is underway on the transportation of those detained on Rikers Island to court.
Council Member Carlina Rivera is the chair of the Committee on Criminal Justice and pointed out that the hearing comes as the latest federal monitor report “reveals violent, life-altering incidents in the last two weeks at Rikers.”
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by Council Member Carlina Rivera and Darren Mack, published May 19
Since Mayor Adams entered office last year, the number of individuals incarcerated on Rikers diagnosed with a serious mental illness has increased by 38%, and currently 52% of those incarcerated on Rikers have received a mental health diagnosis. About 90% of the Rikers jail population are individuals being held pre-trial, waiting 115 days on average for their trial.
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May 3, 2023, published by Mack DeGeurin
Brooklyn resident Fabian Rogers knew he had to act in 2018 when his penny-pinching landlord suddenly attempted to install a facial recognition camera in the entrance of a rent-stabilized building he’d called home for years. Under the new security system, all tenants and their loved ones would be forced to submit to a face scan to enter the building.
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May 3, 2023, published by Sunny Sequeira
With over half of New York City tenants spending nearly a third of their income on rent, affordable housing is crucial to ensuring a safe future for New Yorkers. That’s why advocates in have rallied and thrown their support behind the Community Land Act, a package of bills before the New York City Council that would provide nonprofits and community land trusts with the resources to develop permanently affordable housing.
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May 3, 2023, published by Kala Rama
There are thousands of cameras scattered around the city, monitoring New Yorkers. Some even have facial recognition and collect your biometrics.
Retailers like Amazon use it to see what you’re buying, and law enforcement agencies use the technology to catch criminals or find missing people.
On Wednesday, a discussion of the pros and cons of this technology took place at the City Hall.
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By Graham Rayman, published April 21
The move disappointed City Council Member Carlina Rivera (D-Manhattan), who chairs the Committee on Criminal Justice. She said Mayor Adams’ administration instead should be increasing standards for the job.
“The City should be hiring the most qualified people for this challenging and important job, and certainly should not be cutting corners on training,” she said.
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by Michael McAuliff, Dave Goldiner and Josephine Stratman, published April 13
A federal appeals court ban on dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone by mail could prove to have a significant impact on women’s reproductive rights in New York in wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last year.
Many of the restrictions that have been rolled out so far on a state-by-state basis have had little effect in New York, where abortion is legal and additional safeguards have been put into place.
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by Kristian Burt, April 13, 2023
Rivera has continued to support the tech hub project during its construction and is eager for Civic Hall’s launch, she said in a statement to Gotham Gazette.
“I am delighted to work with community stakeholders and service providers on realizing this innovative approach to workforce development and bringing with it direct investments to the community that include an eye for the future in the preservation of seven landmarks in a neighborhood with distinct character and architecture,” Rivera said this week.
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