Mayor makes vague pitch to turn borough-based jail into mental health treatment facility

Mayor makes vague pitch to turn borough-based jail into mental health treatment facility

Mayor Eric Adams pitched a vague plan to turn one of the city’s proposed – and extremely delayed – borough-based jail facilities into a mental health treatment jail, confusing advocates and lawmakers who say the mayor has thus far resisted calls to support treatment facilities and programs for detainees.

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The city has three years to close Rikers – can it be done?

The city has three years to close Rikers – can it be done?

As the three-year countdown to the closure of the jails on Rikers Island begins this week, major questions remain about whether or not the city will – or even can – meet the August 2027 deadline to shutter the notorious complex.

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What’s Louis Molina’s job? City Hall won’t say

What’s Louis Molina’s job? City Hall won’t say

Former Department of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina was recently named assistant deputy mayor for public safety. But what that job entails, the mayor’s office won’t say.

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City expands commission to close Rikers: Lippman Commission grows as mayor’s position on jail’s closure shifts

City expands commission to close Rikers: Lippman Commission grows as mayor’s position on jail’s closure shifts

Over three dozen people have officially been appointed to serve on the second iteration of the Independent Rikers Commission, the group that has again been tasked with mapping a plan to shutter Rikers Island’s jail complex.

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Four year countdown to Rikers’ closure begins

Four year countdown to Rikers’ closure begins

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.

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Detainee diagnosed with cancer dies in DOC custody

Detainee diagnosed with cancer dies in DOC custody

Ricky Howell, 60, died in Bellevue Hospital of a terminal illness on Thursday, July 6, only a couple of days after 40-year-old man became the fourth Rikers detainee to die this year. 

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Advocates call on city to meet hunger striking detainees’ demands

Advocates call on city to meet hunger striking detainees’ demands

Advocates and lawmakers rallied at Rikers Island to call on the city to meet the demands made by hunger striking detainees who say they’ve had enough of the deteriorating conditions inside the jail complex.

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