By Jacob Kaye, October 5, 2023
“After having been accused by judges, advocates, lawmakers, oversight agencies, attorneys and others of failing to be transparent about what happens on Rikers Island, the Department of Correction may be legally required to open its records, video recordings and more to an oversight board should two bills set to be introduced in the City Council on Thursday pass into law.
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By Haidee Chu, October 4, 2023
“Dig if you will a new City Council bill, one that is ruffling feathers among businesses that supply doves and white pigeons for release, often during weddings or funerals.
Councilmembers Carlina Rivera, Lynn Schulman and Shaun Abreu last week introduced legislation to ban the commercial release of birds.
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By Catalina Gonella, September 28, 2023
“Woof. The organizer of the annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade has called off the event after a ruff time trying to cover all the administrative costs.
“PARADE HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE,” the website for the dog run reads atop the homepage. For what would have been its 33rd annual puppy parade, organizers told Gothamist that planning logistics for the event had gotten out of hand.
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By Reuven Blau, September 27, 2023
“Department of Correction officials would have to notify the public after any death in custody within 24 hours if a bill set to be introduced Thursday becomes law.
The agency overseeing detainee medical care would also have to issue public reports with recommendations to prevent future fatalities.
City Councilmember Carlina Rivera (D-Manhattan), the legislation’s primary sponsor, cited THE CITY’s coverage about the lack of transparency in jail death reporting and secret medical morbidity and mortality reviews conducted by staff at Correctional Health Services.
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By Jacqueline Neber, September 14, 2023
September 1, 2023 by Jacob Kaye
Four years – as of Thursday, that’s exactly how long the city has to close its notorious jail complex on Rikers Island.
Whether or not that deadline of Aug. 31, 2027 can be met by the city is another question entirely, and one whose answer is becoming increasingly unclear.
But with the legally-mandated closure of Rikers Island officially four years away, dozens of advocates, formerly incarcerated New Yorkers and a handful of elected officials gathered outside of City Hall on Thursday to demand that Mayor Eric Adams get the city’s current – and only – plan to shutter the jail back on track.
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August 31, 2023 by Charles Lane
Elected officials and advocates stood in front of City Hall on Thursday with clocks made of posterboard and started a countdown for when the city jail on Rikers Island will close: four years from today.
Or so they hope.
The rally, which officials including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams;
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Mayor Eric Adams called on the City Council Tuesday to revisit the plan to close Rikers Island.
The current court-mandated deadline to close the jail is August 2027.
Adams pushed back against the current proposal to move to a borough-based jail system, citing the rise in population and costs.
This all comes as a potential federal takeover of the jail complex continues to play out in court.
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August 28, 2023 by Reuven Blau
Anytime someone dies inside a city jail, the agency in charge of medical care launches a comprehensive review of what happened, with an eye toward preventing future detainee deaths.
But the morbidity and mortality reports conducted by Correctional Health Services are never made public, and their “corrective action” recommendations are rarely shared with anyone outside of city government.
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August 23, 2023 by Carlina Rivera
New York City spends more than $555,000 per person per year on incarceration – more than any other city in the nation by a wide margin, and the result of employing more correction officers per incarcerated person than virtually any other local jail system in this country. Even with high
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