Advocates host Rikers Bridge vigil to honor those who died in detention

The entrance to Rikers Island. Eagle file photo by David Brand

By David Brand

A coalition of justice reform advocates will demonstrate at the entrance to Rikers Island tomorrow to honor those who have died in detention.

The vigil, organized by members of the #CloseRikers coalition, will take place Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the Rikers Bridge in Astoria. Brandon Holmes, a spokesperson for coalition member JustLeadership, said the vigil is designed to highlight exactly why advocates demand the closure of Rikers Island’s dangerous and isolated jails.

“We’re moving the conversation from brick and mortar to the lives that are affected,” Holmes said. “This is about recognizing the people who have died at Rikers in the past ten years. Remembering the people who were lost and the people who we still don’t have the solutions to get out.”

The coalition hosted a similar vigil outside Gracie Mansion in the winter of 2016 to “remind folks about the sub-humane conditions at Rikers,” Holmes said.

The demonstration coincides with a citywide day of action organized by the #CloseRikers campaign.

Despite significant criminal justice reforms at the state and city level, thousands of New Yorkers remain detained or incarcerated in city jails, mostly on Rikers. The city estimates that the detained population will decrease to about 4,000 people by 2026, at which point the city plans to open four new community-based jails, including one in Kew Gardens.

“It’s very sobering to come to the realization that there are still going to be 4,000 folks who are going to be potentially detained in New York City after pretrial reforms are implemented,” Holmes said.

JustLeadership and members of the #CloseRikers campaign support the city’s plan to close Rikers Island and open four new jails, with the goal of one day abolishing detention facilities.

She said she understands the perspective of advocates who call for eliminating all jails, but said defeating the city’s plan could uphold a dangerous status quo at Rikers.

“Abolition is a goal, not a strategy,” said Exodus Transitional Community Vice President Kandra Clark after the Queens Community Board 9 voted against the city’s jails plan last month. Exodus provides re-entry services for people leaving jails and prisons.

Members of the No New Jails movement demand the closure of Rikers Island jails and the diversion of jail funding to social services, education and other community.