Council to vote on long-stalled solitary confinement ban
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The New York City Council is expected this week to vote on – and pass – a long-stalled bill that would effectively ban solitary confinement in the city’s jails.
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Local public defenders wary of new Rikers dyslexia screening bill
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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.
Read MoreAdvocates call on gov to sign Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act
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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.
Read MoreMigrant crisis widens political rifts in Queens and beyond
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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.
Correctional officer union sues city
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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.
Read MoreTop city leaders stand side-by-side to call for migrant assistance
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An unlikely coalition joined an impassioned Mayor Eric Adams at a rally in Manhattan on Thursday urging the federal government to let asylum seekers legally work.
Read MoreBoard of Correction sues DOC over revoked video access
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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.
Read MoreGood government group calls for Rikers receivership
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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.
Read MoreCouncil grills Adams administration on air quality response
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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.
Read MoreCuts to Rikers programming blasted as 'irresponsible' by lawmakers and service providers
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With a little more than a week before the Department of Correction plans to sever its contracts with nearly half a dozen nonprofits that provide services to detainees on Rikers Island, elected officials, formerly incarcerated New Yorkers and top officials with the affected organizations called on the city to find new ways to save $17 million dollars.
Read MoreReport finds asylum seekers struggle to cover legal fees, find work
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A new report conducted by Make the Road New York found that newly arrived migrants overwhelmingly are having difficulty covering the legal fees required to apply for asylum and get work authorization.
Read MorePublic advocate and comptroller call for federal receivership after Rikers tour
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Two top city officials took a trip to Rikers Island on Wednesday following a troubling month in the jail complex. And while they said conditions there were far less chaotic than they have been in recent years, they still feel a judge should strip control of Rikers Island away from the city.
Read MoreSpeaker 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 MoreNYC officials visit Queens shelter where asylum seeker died
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Less than a week after a woman took her life in a shelter on Jamaica Avenue, city officials toured the Queens facility to try and get a sense of the conditions the migrant and others like her face upon their arrival to the five boroughs.
Read MoreQueens nonprofit fights for safe summer
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“This is where we proactively get ahead of what has historically been an uptick in shootings during summer months. The community is the solution.”
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