Rikers ‘deadlocking’ allegations resurface at Council hearing as DOC denials continue

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Rikers ‘deadlocking’ allegations resurface at Council hearing as DOC denials continue

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.

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Mamdani’s new street safety plan takes cues from Queens legislators

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Mamdani’s new street safety plan takes cues from Queens legislators

Mayor Zohran Mamdani laid out a broad plan to address safety on New York’s streets on Tuesday, featuring some ideas that have been strongly supported and championed by Queens officials for some time.

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Advocates say Hochul is failing to keep promise on prison commutations

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Advocates say Hochul is failing to keep promise on prison commutations

Two weeks after Governor Kathy Hochul pardoned six individuals but chose not to commute the sentences of any of the more than 1,000 New Yorkers who have applied, advocates stood outside her Midtown office on Tuesday and called on the governor not to let political pressure prevent her from keeping her promise to regularly use her clemency powers to release reformed individuals from prison.

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Judge troubled after DOC leadership accused of attempting to stifle oversight

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Judge troubled after DOC leadership accused of attempting to stifle oversight

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.

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Interborough Express moves ahead as state prepares to release major environmental review

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Interborough Express moves ahead as state prepares to release major environmental review

The state is continuing to move ahead with its plan to build a 14-mile light rail connecting Queens and Brooklyn, as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced this week that it was making major progress in the design and environmental review phase of the Interborough Express.

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