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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August 17, 2023 by Matthew Russell Lee

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Aug 17 – NYC’s crumbling public housing authority, NYCHA, negotiates savings from utility companies but then HUD in Washington takes half of it.

On August 17 HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, who has previously been asked about the issue, got a letter from elected officials including Rep.

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August 16, 2023 by Arthur Chi’en

For many New Yorkers, the corner along E. 14th St., and 1st Avenue is not likely to end up in any “I Love New York” commercials anytime soon. 

The corner is consistently the scene of homelessness, drug use, and unlicensed vendors – which residents tell said are selling items stolen from stores nearby or pillaged from community refrigerators in the neighborhood. 

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August 16, 2023 by Ryan Schwach

A new city law in response to the scourge of illegal smoke shops went into effect this summer, and on Monday, the Queens councilmember who sponsored it and other officials discussed how the new law will work. 

Introduction 1001-B, which went into effect on July 23, prohibits owners of commercial spaces from knowingly leasing to unlicensed sellers of marijuana or tobacco products, and imposes fines on landlords for violations.

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August 3, 2023 by Carlina Rivera and Jon Orcutt

On Thursday the New York City Council passed Intro. 289 — requiring the city Department of Transportation create a map showing conditions affecting bike lanes — including obstructions caused by street construction, maintenance or repair, weather, and other hazards.

New York City has expanded its bike network to over 1,500 miles of bike lanes, including hundreds of miles of protected lanes.

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July 26, 2023 by Kathryn Brenzel

Four buildings on East 17th Street are up grabs — and a reimagining.

The buyer of a 12-story medical building offered by Mount Sinai Beth Israel could convert the property to luxury condos, just as the nearby former Cabrini Medical Center was transformed into a 223-unit high-end complex, now called Gramercy Square.

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