Man dies on Rikers Island, marking ninth DOC death this year
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A 36-year-old man died on Rikers Island on Tuesday, marking the ninth time someone has died in Department of Correction custody this year.
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Rikers oversight nominee warns city needs contingency plans if jail population stays high
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The former executive director of the Board of Correction and current nominee for the oversight body told lawmakers on Monday that the city should come up with some backup plans to close Rikers Island in case it is unable to lower the jail’s population to a size that will fit in the borough-based jails.
Read MoreAdvocates push Mamdani to boost funding for Rikers closure efforts
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Over 70 criminal justice, social justice and legal organizations this week called on the mayor to shift at least $35 million in the city’s budget to fund new crime prevention, diversion, and reentry programs as the city prepares to release its updated spending plan later this month.
Read MoreNew court rules aim to help defendants stuck on Rikers awaiting mental health treatment
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Defendants found unfit to stand trial can spend upwards of six months waiting on Rikers Island for a bed in an upstate hospital to become available. Meanwhile, they have little to no contact with a judge, meaning any improvements they make may go unnoticed.
Read MoreUlrich pulled strings to score DOC job for co-defendant’s daughter, calls show
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Former Queens City Councilmember Eric Ulrich used his influence in Mayor Eric Adams’ administration to score his co-defendant’s daughter a high-paying job in the Department of Correction, recorded phone calls played in court on Tuesday showed.
Read MoreJudge halts overnight construction of Chinatown jail
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A judge this week ordered the city to temporarily halt overnight construction of its borough-based jail in Chinatown, potentially delaying the jail’s completion and the city’s plan to close Rikers Island, which is already running years behind schedule.
Read MoreMamdani names longtime reformer to lead jail watchdog amid ongoing crisis on Rikers
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Christopher Watler will lead the Board of Correction’s oversight of Rikers Island at a time of major change – and continued troubles – for the city’s criminal justice system.
Read MoreRikers reform effort falters as DOC struggles with basic jail operations
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The federal monitor tracking conditions on Rikers Island said the dangerous jail has remained mired in dysfunction and constitutional violations a little more than six months after a federal judge stripped the city of its control of the jail complex and appointed a remediation manager to lead the reform effort.
Read MoreRikers ‘deadlocking’ allegations resurface at Council hearing as DOC denials continue
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Nearly two years after a social worker first alleged that correctional officers on Rikers Island regularly locked up detainees suffering from mental health issues for weeks or months at a time – cutting them off from healthcare, programming and other people in custody – the debate over the existence of the practice, known as “deadlocking,” continued during a City Council hearing Wednesday.
Read More20-year-old man dies in DOC custody at Queens Criminal Court
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A 20-year-old man died in Department of Correction custody inside Queens Criminal Court on Wednesday.
Read MoreJudge troubled after DOC leadership accused of attempting to stifle oversight
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A federal judge said that Department of Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards appeared to violate a number of court orders when he issued a recent directive limiting his top deputies from communicating with oversight officials charged with leading reform efforts at Rikers Island.
Read MoreRikers monitor rips DOC leadership over ‘grave concerns’ about transparency
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After months of praising a shift toward greater transparency at the Department of Correction, the federal watchdog overseeing Rikers Island sharply changed course Thursday, accusing agency leadership of taking steps that could undermine court-ordered reforms.
Read MoreCouncil working on bill to push back Rikers Island closure deadline
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The City Council is currently drafting a bill to extend the deadline to close Rikers and replace it with four borough-based jails
Read MoreBronx man becomes seventh to die in DOC custody this year
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A 41-year-old man who had been held on Rikers Island for over two years was pronounced dead on Tuesday morning.
Read MoreMan dies in Bellevue jail unit, becoming sixth DOC death of 2026
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A man being held in a new Bellevue Hospital jail unit for detainees with serious medical needs died on Wednesday, becoming the sixth person to die in Department of Correction custody this year.
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