City claims Rikers receivership isn’t needed with new commissioner at helm

City claims Rikers receivership isn’t needed with new commissioner at helm

Attorneys for the city on Tuesday told a federal judge that Rikers Island should remain in the hands of the city as a new, reform-minded commissioner takes a stab at curbing violent conditions at the notorious jail complex.

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Mayor claims borough-based jails can’t be built by Rikers’ closure deadline

Mayor claims borough-based jails can’t be built by Rikers’ closure deadline

Repeating what top members of his administration have begun to suggest in recent weeks, Mayor Eric Adams said on Tuesday that his administration has little to no shot of building four borough-based jails by the time Rikers Island is legally-mandated to shutter as a jail complex in 2027.

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Nonprofits given ax by DOC last year return to work on Rikers for free

Nonprofits given ax by DOC last year return to work on Rikers for free

A little more than half a year after the Department of Correction cut a contract with several nonprofit service providers, two of those organizations have been asked to again provide programming to detainees on Rikers Island – and to do it for free.

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Detainee programming on Rikers declined after DOC cut ties with nonprofit providers

Detainee programming on Rikers declined after DOC cut ties with nonprofit providers

The city’s Department of Correction has significantly struggled to provide re-entry services, educational programs, life skills training and other programs to detainees after cutting ties last year with around a half dozen nonprofit service providers as a cost savings measure.

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Federal monitor calls for ‘significant revisions’ to solitary ban

Federal monitor calls for ‘significant revisions’ to solitary ban

The federal monitor charged with keeping track of violent conditions on Rikers Island said that he and his team disapprove of the City Council’s ban on solitary confinement, which the legislative body passed with a veto-proof majority at the tail end of last year’s legislative session. 

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Mayor grumbles about Rikers reforms at correction officer graduation

Mayor grumbles about Rikers reforms at correction officer graduation

While giving remarks at a graduation ceremony for Department of Correction officers on Friday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams bristled at recent attempts from the City Council and others to make reforms to the troubled jail complex on Rikers Island.

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No sprinklers or guards as detainees were trapped during Rikers fire, report says

No sprinklers or guards as detainees were trapped during Rikers fire, report says

Detainees were held in locked cells that were filling up with smoke for nearly a half hour as a fire spread through a Rikers Island facility in April, a new report from the city’s Board of Correction found.

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Mayor names new jails boss

Mayor names new jails boss

Nearly a month after City Hall said a new agency head would be named to replace Louis Molina, whose long-awaited “promotion” to serve as assistant deputy mayor of public safety was also made official Friday, Mayor Eric Adams tapped Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, an eight-year veteran of the DOC, to serve as Molina’s successor.

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