By Reuven Blau and Katie Honan, published December 20, 2023
More than four years after the death of a transgender woman in solitary on Rikers Island galvanized the nation, the City Council Wednesday passed legislation to strictly limit the use of the punishment that the United Nations has deemed torture.
The 39 to 7 vote, with one abstention, is the culmination of even longer years of advocacy and gives the Council a veto proof majority should Mayor Eric Adams move to block the legislation.
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By Courtney Gross, published December 19, 2023
“The City Council is set to ban the use of solitary confinement in city jails — setting up a long-anticipated battle between Mayor Eric Adams and the more progressive legislature.
“The reality is no matter what terminology you use, people are facing the cruel and unusual punishment of isolation,”
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By Michael Gartland and Graham Rayman, published December 19, 2023
“New York City could soon become the largest big city in the country to ban most forms of solitary confinement in its jails — a measure expected to move one step closer to reality Wednesday when the City Council votes on a bill restricting the use of the policy.
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Aired November 15, 2023
Watch the program here: https://youtu.be/JnhHAASb_-E?si=szsSHjmYuew0j8dM
By Chris Welch, December 14, 2023
“One of the last hospitals still serving Lower Manhattan, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, is on track for closure next July.
On Thursday, politicians and community advocates gathered to save it.
“It is unacceptable and we are here to demand more,” said the neighborhood’s city council member Carlina Rivera, who organized the rally.
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By Zhané Caldwell, December 14, 2023
The future of healthcare for thousands of residents who live near Mount Sinai Beth Israel is uncertain after the hospital announced its plans to shutter the campus in the next seven months.
At a rally Thursday, outside the hospital, residents voiced their opposition to the closure. They say that if the hospital closes there will be just one hospital south of 23rd Street in an area that has a population of more than 400,000 people.
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By The Village Sun, December 13, 2023
“Councilmember Carlina Rivera will join hospital union members and local residents at a rally to save Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital on Thurs., Dec. 14, at 11 a.m., at 17th Street and First Ave., one block north of the hospital’s entrance.
Only in the past few weeks have local politicians and the wider community learned of Mount Sinai’s plan to close the historic hospital abruptly within the next seven months, by July 12.
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By Tim Balk, December 10, 2023
“In a defining image of New York’s migrant crisis, scores of asylum seekers slept on the pavement outside the migrant processing center at the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown last summer. When the temperatures plunge this winter, any similar breakdowns could prove much more dire.
As the city’s asylum seeker challenge deepens, the mercury dips and new shelter deadlines approach for the arrivals, advocates are worried the migrants could face a
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By Graham Rayman, December 9, 2023
“A former top Correction Department investigator’s allegations that ex-Correction Commissioner Louis Molina sought to undermine outside oversight of the city’s jails “raise significant and serious concerns,” says the federal monitor tracking violence and use of force at Rikers Island and other city lockups.
The allegations by former Associate Deputy Commissioner of Investigations Ruben Benitez
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By Jessy Edwards, December 7, 2023
“City officials are calling for outgoing New York City jails boss Louis Molina to be investigated after one of his former deputies filed a legal claim saying he and his appointees worked to cover up violence and retaliated against staff who tried to call them out.
On Monday, Ruben Benitez, a 19-year veteran of the city jails department, filed a notice of intent to sue the city and alleged Molina demoted him from head of an elite investigations team to an entry-level position after he reported department misconduct.
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