The City Council on Monday passed a bill that they say will bring transparency to the way the city’s Department of Correction announces and shares information about detainee deaths.
Read MoreA City Council bill discussed Friday would define the procedures the DOC and Correctional Health Services – the branch of the city’s hospital system that provides medical care on Rikers Island – should take to notify an incarcerated person’s emergency contacts when that person is seriously injured, hospitalized or attempts suicide.
Read MoreThe City Council on Thursday introduced a bill that they say would stop the city’s Department of Correction from recording calls made by detainees inside Rikers Island without first getting a warrant.
Read MoreAdvocates, lawmakers and public defenders on Monday urged the city’s jail watchdog to ensure that the City Council’s ban on solitary confinement be fully implemented before the end of next month, despite ongoing efforts from the city and Department of Correction to delay the law’s enactment.
Read MoreThe New York City Council passed a bill on Wednesday that bans the use of solitary confinement in the city’s jails, setting up a potential battle with the mayor who has expressed staunch opposition to the legislation.
Read MoreIn August, Mayor Eric Adams called for a new proposal to close Rikers Island while reiterating his opposition to the current plan. It seems less than two months later he has got his wish.
Read MoreThe City Council last week passed legislation they say will not only ensure detainees get to their court appearances on time, but will also help the city reach its legally-mandated deadline to close Rikers Island by the summer of 2027.
Read MoreAfter 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.
Read MoreThe watchdog group charged with keeping tabs on New York City’s jails says that the city needs to “recommit” to its plan to shutter Rikers Island, which has seen its average daily population grow by nearly 1,000 detainees in the past two years.
Read MoreFour 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.
Read MoreA 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.
Read MoreWith a little more than a week before the Department of Correction plans to sever its contracts with nearly half a dozen nonprofits that provide services to detainees on Rikers Island, elected officials, formerly incarcerated New Yorkers and top officials with the affected organizations called on the city to find new ways to save $17 million dollars.
Read MoreWhile Department of Correction officials say that their ability to get detainees to their court appearances has markedly improved over the past year, others say the corrections agency isn’t being forthcoming about its practices.
Read MoreThe Department of Correction has told half a dozen organizations that provide services and programs to jailed New Yorkers that they will no longer be contracted to work with the agency come July.
Read MoreLawmakers blasted Department of Correction officials for the crisis in the city’s jails Wednesday during a budget hearing.
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