January 12, 2023, by Dan Krauth
RIKERS ISLAND, New York (WABC) — Drugs are getting smuggled past the barbed wire fences at Rikers Island and 7 On Your Side Investigates uncovered how it’s happening and a new way to potentially stop it that is sparking opposition.
Last year was the deadliest year at Rikers in a decade.
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by Greg Smith, published January 4, 2022
“Two days before Josefa Bonet died on Oct. 1, she asked her doctor for an unusual test, to see if she had arsenic in her blood.
Bonet was living at Jacob Riis Houses in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Just a month earlier, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) revealed that lab tests had found arsenic in the water at her development — only to reverse course and claim there was no arsenic.
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by Dean Moses, published December 29, 2022
“New York City’s very first legal marijuana dispensary was officially christened in the East Village on Dec. 29 with its first sale.
Chris Alexander, the executive director of the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) made the first sale, buying $96 of marijuana products at 750 Broadway, a shop opened and operated by Housing Works, a non-profit that fights homelessness and HIV.
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by Ariama C. Long, published December 29, 2022
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After an internal New York City Administration of Children’s Services (ACS) audit was conducted and consequently buried in 2020, suspicions of racial biased practices that disrupt Black, brown and low-income families were confirmed. In the meantime, elected officials have been rallying for systemic change and the Family Miranda law to properly inform parents of their rights.
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by Cayla Bamberger, published December 21, 2022
Dozens of parents and NYC council members rallied Wednesday for long-sought reform bills that require city workers to verbally inform families of their legal rights at the start of a child welfare investigation.
Under existing law, parents have the right to know the allegations against them of abuse or neglect, speak with an attorney, and refuse to let the Administration for Children’s Services enter their homes absent a court order or emergency.
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by John Annese and Graham Rayman, published December 18, 2022
“A packet of drugs in a McDonald’s salad. Vacuum-sealed marijuana in a lunch box. Hennessy cognac in AriZona Iced Tea bottles, and Ciroc coconut-flavored vodka in Poland Spring water bottles.
These are all examples of contraband smuggled into New York City jails in recent years — not by detainees or their visitors but by correction officers.
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by Tandy Lau, published December 15, 2022
Edgardo Mejias is the 19th person to die in—or shortly after in—Department of Corrections (DOC) custody this year. The 39-year-old was pronounced dead at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island this past Sunday, Dec. 11 at approximately 5 p.m.
“Mr. Mejias’ passing fills our hearts with sadness, and we extend our heartfelt sympathies to all who held him dear as we recognize how hard it is to lose a loved one during the holidays,” said DOC Commissioner Louis A.
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by Rachel Vick, published December 14, 2022
Appearing before the City Council’s Committee on Criminal Justice on Tuesday, Department of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina said that he was unsure if the city would be able to close Rikers Island by 2027 as required by city law.
Citing the jail’s high population – and his expectation that it will continue to rise in the coming years – Molina suggested that moving to borough-based jails with lower capacities is unlikely.
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by Bobby Cuza, published December 14, 2022
“Since the summer of 2020, a retail space at Broadway and 8th Street in Manhattan that formerly housed a Gap store has sat empty.
Now a new store is set to open, and it’s not just any store: the space will likely be home to New York’s first-ever legal adult-use cannabis dispensary.
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By Amelia Pollard, Tiffany Kary, and Gregory Korte, published December 12, 2022
“New York regulators and law enforcement are starting to crack down on an onslaught of illicit pot sellers exploiting the run-up to the state’s first recreational marijuana sales.
Scores of so-called weed bodegas have popped up in storefronts across the city hawking pre-rolled joints, edibles and gummies that tout cannabis’ psychoactive ingredient THC.
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