Opinion: What to do about Rikers Island
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“No one should be threatened or fearful of a receiver if the goal is to, once and for all, comprehensively, thoughtfully, and successfully address the Rikers mess. It’s long overdue.”
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Speaker Adams bashes mayor on plan to close Rikers
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“The inconsistent statements from the administration over the past few days have unacceptably created questions where there should be no questions,” the speaker said. “Rikers must close by 2027 and we cannot allow it to continue undermining public safety issues across our city.”
Read MoreJail oversight board stalls mail digitization plan
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A controversial plan to intercept and digitize detainee mail on Rikers Island has again been kept in limbo after the city’s jail oversight body declined to vote on the plan, months after it was first introduced.
Read More$3 billion and 2 years tardy: Proposed jail contract blows past Rikers closure deadline
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Will the city be able to close Rikers Island by 2027? Likely not, if a newly proposed contract to build the first of the city’s upcoming four borough-based jails is approved as is.
Read MoreTech snafu delays vote on controversial DOC plan to digitize detainee mail
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In an ironic twist, the Board of Correction’s plan to vote on a controversial proposal from the Department of Correction to use technology to digitize detainees’ mail was thwarted by faulty technology on Tuesday.
Read MoreAmid lawsuit, DOC brings on atty to oversee Rikers health services
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The Department of Correction named a new official to help lead its health programming – an appointment that comes as the agency continues to face allegations that it has failed to provide medical treatment to detainees on Rikers Island.
Read MoreMan dies on Rikers, first death this year
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An elderly man died on Rikers Island over the weekend, marking the first time an incarcerated individual has died in the troubled jail facility this year.
Read MoreDOC fails to track detainee intake process, attorneys claim
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“That should be infuriating to everyone – I can't even tell you reliably how long people are in these disgusting cells that lack very basic services.”
Read MoreNo word yet on jail officials’ controversial plan to intercept detainee mail
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The Board of Correction will form a committee to discuss jail officials’ controversial plan to intercept detainee mail on Rikers Island. The Department of Correction claims that the mail is increasingly being used to send drugs and other contraband into the jails. The claim is heavily disputed.
Read MoreCity’s failure to get detainees to doctors continues, attys say
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The city’s Department of Correction has again been accused of not providing medical care to detainees after three law firms representing the incarcerated population on Rikers Island filed a motion to have a judge hold the agency in contempt for skirting its mandated duties.
Read MoreRikers death toll climbs after 39-year-old found dead
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A 39-year-old man being held pre-trial on Rikers Island was found dead in the cell he was being held in on Sunday evening, marking the 19th time a person in Department of Correction custody has died this year.
Read MoreCity agrees to pay $300 million to former Rikers detainees
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The city and its Department of Correction has agreed to pay a class of individuals formerly detained on Rikers Island up to $300 million for allegedly failing to release them in a timely manner after they posted bail.
Read MoreDOC falsified records to show compliance with court order, attorneys say
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Staffers with the city’s Department of Correction allegedly tampered with internal records to cover up instances where newly incarcerated people were held for over 24 hours in intake cells on Rikers Island, the Legal Aid Society and the Board of Correction alleged this week.
Read MoreRikers detainee dies shortly after being granted compassionate release
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The Department of Correction passed a grim milestone this week when Robert Pondexter became the 16th person to die either in DOC custody or shortly after being granted compassionate release.
Read MoreAgain, man dies while under DOC watch on Rikers Island
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A detained man hanged himself inside a staff bathroom on Rikers Island on Wednesday morning, marking the 14th time this year an incarcerated person has died while under the watch of the officers and officials charged with running the city’s failing jail complex.
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