The City wastes little time in efforts to shutter Rikers Island and get construction across the boroughs started. Since the latter half of November, the City announced three major developments in the Borough-Based Jails plan. Each announcement is discussed in further detail below. To read more about Borough-Based Jails, read Cityland’s prior coverage here.
Search Results for: Department of Correction
Council in Agreement to Close Rikers, Questions Remain on Borough Based Jail Solution
Council received extensive testimony and differing perspectives on Borough Based Jails. On September 5, 2019, City Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses held a public hearing regarding the City’s application to close Rikers Island and create a Borough Based Jail System. The proposed sites are 124-125 White Street in Manhattan, 745 East 141St Street in the Bronx, 126-02 82nd Avenue in Queens and at 275 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.
City Planning Approves Borough Based Jail Application
Borough based jail proposal moves to City Council. On September 3, 2019, the City Planning Commission approved the Department of Corrections, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ application for a special permit to create a borough-based jail system with modifications. The application passed by a 9-3 vote with Commissioners Alfred C. Cerullo III, Orlando Marin and Raj Ramphershad voting against the proposal.
Jason Adolfo Otaño, General Counsel for the New York City Council
Jason Adolfo Otaño, the General Counsel for the New York City Council, was born to Puerto Rican parents and grew up in the Sheepshead Bay area of Brooklyn. Otaño’s father was a City firefighter for 28 years, his mother a paraprofessional for the Department of Education, and his uncle a captain for the Department of Corrections.
NYCHA, City, and Federal Government Will Come Together To Fix Public Housing
Consent decree seeks to create a common game plan to funding to ameliorate problems at the New York City Housing Authority. Public housing has been under the public eye in the last few years due to allegations of mismanagement from its leadership. On June 11, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio held a press conference on the future of public housing in New York City. The Mayor announced that the City agreed to a settlement, memorialized … <Read More>
Fewer Serious Assaults At Rikers Island
Efforts to reduce violence at Rikers begin to show success. On September 19, 2017, the Department of Corrections reported that, since 2014, Corrections has seen a significant drop in serious assaults on staff, serious injury to inmates, and use of force.