Council overrides mayor’s vetoes of criminal justice bills

Council overrides mayor’s vetoes of criminal justice bills

The City Council on Tuesday voted to override the mayor’s veto of a bill aimed at increasing transparency in the NYPD and a bill to ban solitary confinement in the city’s jails, putting to an end a weeks-long public debate riddled with accusations from both councilmembers, Mayor Eric Adams and his allies that the other side purposely were spreading half-truths or outright lies.

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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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Council bans solitary confinement

Council bans solitary confinement

The 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.

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Local public defenders wary of new Rikers dyslexia screening bill

Local public defenders wary of new Rikers dyslexia screening bill

A new bill that would require dyslexia screening of certain detainees in the city’s jails signed into law by Mayor Eric Adams last week is facing pushback from some local public defenders who are wary about the agency being given new responsibilities. 

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Advocates call on gov to sign Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act

Advocates call on gov to sign Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act

Monday was International Wrongful Conviction Day, and advocates and officials recognized the day of awareness at City Hall Park, continuing their call for Governor Kathy Hochul to sign the Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act into law.

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Migrant crisis widens political rifts in Queens and beyond

Migrant crisis widens political rifts in Queens and beyond

As the ongoing migrant crisis in New York City intensifies with no signs of slowing down, as has the rift between various sects of city electeds with different strategies for fighting it, splintering Mayor Eric Adams’ hopes of a united front. 


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Correctional officer union sues city

Correctional officer union sues city

The union representing correctional officers working on Rikers Island sued the Department of Correction this week, alleging the agency illegally told officers to speak with the federal monitor responsible for tracking violence in the jail. 

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Board of Correction sues DOC over revoked video access

Board of Correction sues DOC over revoked video access

The Board of Correction, the citizen watchdog board charged with providing oversight to the Department of Correction, sued the agency in an effort to regain unfettered access to video from within Rikers Island after DOC brass revoked the board’s ability to view it remotely earlier this year.

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Good government group calls for Rikers receivership

Good government group calls for Rikers receivership

Last week, good government group Citizens Union joined the a number of elected officials, advocates and others in calling for federal Judge Laura Swain to put the city’s notorious jail complex into a federal receivership, or a judicial order that could see the power to manage Rikers handed over to a court-appointed authority. 

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Council grills Adams administration on air quality response

Council grills Adams administration on air quality response

Smoke from Canadian wildfires fell over the city, which gave the majority of the five boroughs, including Queens, a hazy, orange tint, and brought the worst air quality the city has seen since the metric began being recorded. To members of the New York City Council, just as confounding as the color of the skies was the Adams administration’s response to the emergency. And so, on Wednesday, city councilmembers grilled agency heads on the city’s response to the unprecedented event. 

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