FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Contact: Contact: Yonah Zeitz | 347-201-2768 | yonah@katalcenter.org
Follow on BlueSky @KatalCenter | #ShutRikers | #CutShutInvestNY
Federal Court Takes Over Rikers Island, Appoints Independent Receiver to Address Violence and Dysfunction
Community Groups Hail Decision, Call for Court to Shut Rikers
Statement from Katal Center
New York, NY: Today, Judge Laura Taylor Swain filed a decision in federal court to take Rikers Island out of the city’s control and appoint an independent receiver to address the constitutional violations. For over two years, community groups and people directly impacted by Rikers have called on the federal courts to appoint an independent receiver to improve conditions at Rikers until it is shut down.
Statement from Melanie Dominguez and Yonah Zeitz, NY Co-Directors, Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice.
“For decades, New Yorkers, including our members, have experienced the dangerous and deadly conditions at Rikers. Instead of following the law to shutter Rikers by 2027, Mayor Adams has worked to keep Rikers open. And during his administration, conditions at Rikers have worsened. Nearly 40 people have died since Adams took office. The conditions are so severe that now, a federal judge has taken the drastic step of removing the mayor from controlling Rikers.
This is the right move. As the situation at Rikers has worsened, Katal and our allies have organized across the city and rallied in front of the courts to demand intervention at Rikers. We’ve urged the courts to strip Mayor Adams of control over Rikers and appoint an independent receiver to improve conditions and save lives until the notorious jail complex is shut down once and for all. So we applaud the court’s decision today and thank the Legal Aid Society for persistent work in the courtroom to secure this victory.
Receivership is a tool of last resort. In this instance, it is a drastic and necessary measure to save lives. The independent receiver must move swiftly and should be bound to the city’s legal mandate to shut Rikers. Anything less is unacceptable.”
Background: #ShutRikers is a campaign of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice. Katal 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 public safety: housing, health care, education, and jobs.
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