Jackson Heights school health clinic closed by city with little explanation

Jackson Heights school health clinic closed by city with little explanation

The little-explained closure of a city-run Gotham Health clinic inside a Jackson Heights school is hitting students and parents hard, and has left a gap in healthcare for students and families struggling to find it elsewhere.

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No sprinklers or guards as detainees were trapped during Rikers fire, report says

No sprinklers or guards as detainees were trapped during Rikers fire, report says

Detainees were held in locked cells that were filling up with smoke for nearly a half hour as a fire spread through a Rikers Island facility in April, a new report from the city’s Board of Correction found.

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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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City breaks ground at Willets Point

City breaks ground at Willets Point

City officials broke ground on the first phase of the redevelopment of Willets Point on Wednesday, marking a major step, however symbolic, toward the creation of an entirely new neighborhood in the long-neglected and polluted corner of Northwest Queens.

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Opinion: Police stops in NYC are at their highest level since 2015. The NYPD doesn’t want us to know just how high

Opinion: Police stops in NYC are at their highest level since 2015. The NYPD doesn’t want us to know just how high

As public defenders, we know that even low-level encounters impact New Yorkers’ core constitutional “right to be left alone.” Under the law, we have the right to refuse to answer questions or simply to leave these encounters. In reality, few people feel empowered to walk away from an armed police officer questioning them. 

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City expands commission to close Rikers: Lippman Commission grows as mayor’s position on jail’s closure shifts

City expands commission to close Rikers: Lippman Commission grows as mayor’s position on jail’s closure shifts

Over three dozen people have officially been appointed to serve on the second iteration of the Independent Rikers Commission, the group that has again been tasked with mapping a plan to shutter Rikers Island’s jail complex.

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