FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 26th, 2026
Contact: Yonah Zeitz: yonah@katalcenter.org • 347-201-2769
Follow on socials @KatalCenter • #ShutRikers #CutShutInvestNY
The First Death in DOC Custody Under Mayor Zohran Mamdani Highlights the Urgent Need to Shut Down Rikers
Mayor Mamdani’s Proposed Budget is a Continuation of the Status Quo from the Previous Administration that Increased the Jail Population and Led to Dozens of Preventable Deaths
New York, This afternoon, news broke that Barry Cozart, 39-years-old, died while incarcerated at the George R. Vierno Center at Rikers Island. This is the first death at Rikers since Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office.
Yesterday, the New York City Council Committee on Criminal Justice held a preliminary hearing on the budget for Fiscal Year 2027. The Mamdani administration’s budget proposal increases the DOC budget by 5 percent, while failing to increase investments in proven solutions to safely reduce the jail population, such as ATI’s, supervised release, JISH housing, IMT, FACT teams, and B-HEARD mental health responses. With the timeline for the Borough-Based Jails significantly delayed, the proposed budget increases funding for the DOC without a clear and reconfigured plan that provides a definite date for when Rikers will be closed.
Statement from Yonah Zeitz, advocacy director of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice: “We send our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Mr. Cozart. He should still be alive today.
While we have a new mayor in City Hall, one thing remains sadly the same: incarcerated people continue to suffer and die at Rikers. Although Mayor Mamdani has said he is committed to closing Rikers, his proposed FY2027 budget leaves the Rikers closure plan in limbo and fails to address the rising jail population. To prevent more deaths, Rikers must be shut down. To shut down Rikers, the city must pass a budget that cuts the jail population and invests in real community safety: housing, health care, including mental health care, education, and jobs. Lives are at stake, and words will not save them. We demand action and a budget that reflects the administration’s commitment to close Rikers once and for all. ”
Background: #ShutRikers is a campaign of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice. Katal members, supporters, and our allies are working to cut the correctional populations and the budgets used for caging people; shut down Rikers Island; and invest in real community safety: housing, health care, including mental health, education, and jobs.
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