Queens Defenders, the World’s Borough’s largest public defender organization, is facing an uncertain future after the city said that it no longer trusted the firm to carry out the promise of a $32 million contract to provide criminal defense to low-income New Yorkers in Queens.
Read MoreParalegals, legal assistants and other support staffers at Queens Defenders have begun to unionize, an effort that began almost immediately after the organization’s longtime, controversial leader was booted from her post earlier this year.
Read MoreTwo days after a city-appointed commission unveiled a new plan to close Rikers Island, Mayor Eric Adams began to chart his own path regarding the dangerous jail complex’s future.
Read MoreA 55-year-old woman was allegedly found dead inside her cell on Rikers Island early Thursday morning, marking the fourth time in a month – and the second time in a week – that a Rikers detainee has died.
Read MoreIn a stark admission on Wednesday, the commission formed to map out the closure of Rikers Island said that the current 2027 deadline to shutter the deadly jail complex has become impossible for the city to meet.
Read MoreThe city this week rolled out its ambitious plan to redevelop a major section of Downtown Jamaica, two years after it first began exploring the idea of overhauling the area that has been plagued by decades of disinvestment.
Read MoreA 21-year-old being held on Rikers Island died over the weekend, marking the third detainee death seen at the troubled jail complex in less than a month.
Read MoreEugene Kelty, Jr., a former firefighter who helped lead the evacuation of downtown Manhattan on 9/11 and who served as the longtime chair of Queens’ Community Board 7, died over the weekend after a battle with cancer. He was 70 years old.
Read MoreA pilot program from the state’s court system meant to reduce the ballooning population on Rikers Island has seen early successes, officials claim.
Read MoreThe Department of Correction’s civilian watchdog board accused the agency on Tuesday of repeatedly ignoring their authority and enacting changes on Rikers Island behind their backs.
Read MoreBoth the State Assembly and Senate rejected Governor Kathy Hochul’s attempt to rollback reforms to the state’s evidence-sharing laws on Tuesday, setting up a fight over the proposal as the deadline to pass the state budget approaches.
Read MoreThe City Council on Wednesday approved New York Mets owner Steve Cohen’s plan to bring a casino to Citi Field.
Read MoreTop officials at the Department of Correction said Friday that the mayor’s office has yet to speak with them about the potential return of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers to Rikers Island, despite Mayor Eric Adams announcing the change weeks ago.
Read MoreCity Council Speaker Adrienne Adams became the ninth candidate attempting to unseat Mayor Eric Adams in the upcoming June primary – and the fourth from Queens.
Read MoreComplaints made against New York judges reached a record high in 2024, according to the commission charged with investigating judicial conduct.
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