NYC Health + Hospitals, in conjunction with the Department of Correction (DOC), opened a new transitional service center on Rikers Island on Thursday as the penal facility continues to face harsh criticism from the independent monitor.
Mayor Eric Adams, DOC Commissioner Louis Molina, and staff from the new service center cut the ribbon on what the mayor promised would help give those leaving custody a chance when reentering society. The station will provide incarcerated individuals with a bag of supplies, including a metro card, and for those with serious mental health issues a free phone—with a year of service—with the aim of helping them make a smooth transition.
“You hear all of these things about this place called Rikers Island, and it is really overshadowing what is happening every day,” Adams said. “This combination of people on the ground, who are watching what was needed, and saying, ‘Hey, let’s talk to our administrators and come together and let’s fill this gap.’”
The unveiling of the new service comes following a number of safety concerns on the penal island with advocates going as far to call it a death camp, given that five people have died there in 2023 alone. Although DOC Commissioner Molina told amNewYork Metro in an interview last month that he believes his correctional officers did everything they could for the five inmates, the independent monitor disagreed, stating that DOC should be held in contempt.
“Well, I don’t agree with that position. Our partners at the law department will be making our case to the court that all the work that we’ve done to make a real, real difference, a difference that was not made between the years of 2016 to 2021,” Molina said.
According to the federal monitor’s report, there were several incidents–showcased with images from surveillance footage–where correctional officers were allegedly negligent in their duties (group fights were not halted, incarcerated individuals were not properly monitored, and other violent incidents were not prevented).
In the March 16, 2022 report, the monitor stated that there are several foundational issues that must be addressed: “(1) ineffective staff management, supervision, and deployment; (2) poor security practices; (3) inadequate inmate management; and (4) limited and protracted discipline for staff misconduct.”
The city then agreed to an action plan to improve conditions at Rikers Island.
One year later, in the most recent examination of the facility, the federal monitor stated in its review that Rikers Island has failed in making improvements and should be held in contempt, leading to fines and other repercussions such as a federal judge stripping the city of its jail oversight and bestowing that power to a court-appointed receivership.
“Following the first year of the Action Plan’s implementation and after nearly eight years of monitoring since the Consent Judgment went into effect, there is no question that some progress has been made, but many of the initiatives required by the Action Plan remain incomplete or have not been addressed, and worse, there has been a disturbing level of regression in a number of essential practices. Compounding the concerns about the overall lack of progress is what appears to be the Department’s inability or unwillingness to identify (and therefore address) the objective evidence regarding the pervasive dysfunction and harm that continues to occur daily in the jails,” the report stated.
Molina told amNewYork Metro that the new service center was not in response to the monitor’s report.
“Absolutely not. The last 20 months, when you think about where the department was in January 2022, when it had a state of collapse. And we’ve bought a lot of resources, and those resources have yielded a lot of good things. We’ve seen calendar year to date this year. Slashing and stabbings are down 36% Our assaults on staff are down by double digits,” Molina told amNewYork Metro.
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