**MEDIA ADVISORY**
September 19, 2024
Contact: Yonah Zeitz: 347-201-2768 yonah@katalcenter.org
Follow online: @katalcenter | #ShutRikers | shutrikers.org
Wednesday, 9/25: Adams Administration Faces Possible Contempt of Court Penalties for Refusing to Follow Federal Court Orders Related to Rikers Island Jail Complex
#ShutRikers to hold March & Rally with Community Groups, People Impacted by Rikers, and Elected Officials
Under Mayor Adams, at Least 33 People have Died in City Jails
New York, NY – Next Wednesday, September 25, the U.S. District Court in Manhattan will hold a hearing about the ongoing disaster at Rikers. Judge Laura Taylor Swain may hold the Adams administration in contempt for failing to follow court orders to improve conditions and reduce violence at Rikers. In the most recent report issued on June 27, 2024, the federal monitor highlighted how “the jails remain dangerous and unsafe, characterized by a pervasive, imminent risk of harm to both people in custody and staff.”
Ahead of the hearing, at 1:00 PM people directly impacted by Rikers, along with community groups and elected officials, will gather at City Hall Park to demand that Mayor Adams take immediate action to shut down Rikers. The group will then march together to Foley Square for a 1:30 PM rally to make it clear that until Rikers is shut down, the federal courts must appoint a receiver to improve conditions and save lives.
WHAT: March and Rally to Shut Rikers
WHEN and WHERE: Wednesday, September 25th at 1:00 pm at City Hall Park (43 Park Row), then March to nearby Foley Square (Lafayette Street Worth Street, Centre St) for a 1:30 pm rally. The federal hearing starts at 2:30 pm.
WHO: Community Organizations, People Directly Impacted by Rikers, Elected Officials, Advocates, and More
WATCH LIVE ON INSTAGRAM: @katalcenter
More than 80 community groups support the call for a federal receiver to take over at Rikers along with State Attorney General Leticia James, NYC Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, over twenty City Council members; dozens of state elected officials, former NYC Corporation Counsel and former US Attorney for New York’s Eastern District, Zachary Carter; former director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and former federal prosecutor, Elizabeth Glazer; two former commissioners of the NYC Department of Correction – Vincent Schiraldi and Michael Jacobson; and more.
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