By Nia Prater, published December 22, 2023
In 2015, after spending two years in isolation on Rikers Island without a trial, Kalief Browder took his own life. His family blamed Browder’s stay in solitary confinement, which they said left him a broken man. His death at age 22 renewed calls to end solitary confinement and, eight years later on Wednesday, the City Council voted to
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By Lincoln Anderson, published December 21, 2023
“Now this is what you call a holiday shopping special!
On Thursday, the School Construction Authority and New York University announced that they have agreed to extend the option up to 13 years for the city to build a public school at the site of the current Morton Williams supermarket in Greenwich Village.
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By Emma G. Fitzsimmons, published December 20, 2023
“New York City banned most uses of solitary confinement in city jails on Wednesday, setting the stage for a showdown between City Council leaders and Mayor Eric Adams, who opposes the ban and has vowed to veto the measure.
The Council vote, 39 to 7, was framed by supporters as a pivotal moment in a national push to make jails more humane.
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By Emma G. Fitzsimmons, published December 18, 2023
“The City Council is expected on Wednesday to approve a bill that would make New York the largest American city to ban solitary confinement in city jails in most cases, part of a national campaign to end a practice that critics say amounts to torture.
The Council’s push to ban solitary confinement has been stalled for years over concerns about staffing shortages and violence against jail workers.
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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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