FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Contact: Yonah Zeitz, yonah@katalcenter.org • 347-201-2769
Follow on X @KatalCenter | #ShutRikers | #CutShutInvestNY
After Years of Advocacy by Directly Impacted People, City Council Submits Letter to Court Urging That Any Receiver at Rikers Be Independent and Follow Law to Close Rikers
Community Groups Applaud the Letter and Call on the Council to Immediately Exercise Existing Oversight Authority to Hold Adams Accountable for Shutting Rikers
New York, NY: Late Monday evening, the City Council filed a letter to Federal Judge Laura T. Swain asking that if the Court were to appoint a receiver, they should “preserve and respect the Council’s core powers.” The Council also requested that if a receiver is appointed, their goals must align with and further advance the legally mandated closure of Rikers. This is the first time the City Council has submitted an official court filing related to receivership at Rikers.
For over two years, community groups and people directly impacted by Rikers have worked to get the City Council, the legislative body with oversight over Rikers, to engage the federal court process around receivership in order to hold the mayor accountable for addressing the unconstitutional conditions incarcerated people face and shutting down Rikers. This week’s letter by the City Council to the federal court is a testament to that sustained organizing and pressure.
Until Rikers is shut down, community groups call on the federal court to appoint an independent receiver –with a significant emphasis on independence– to improve conditions and save lives. The City Council, which is seeking to maintain oversight authority, must exercise that authority now to hold Mayor Adams accountable to shutting down Rikers.
Statements from community, advocacy, and faith-based groups:
Danielle Lynn Shanks-Efuntosin, Member of the Katal Center, said: “Far too many lives have been lost at the hands of this monstrous carceral system. In NYC, since Mayor Eric Adams took office, at least 33 people have died in city jails. I have a son who is incarcerated at Rikers, where he was exposed to horrific conditions. For months my son wore the same suit with mildew stains. My son had to wash his own undergarments in a small sink in his cell. Additionally, he would not receive his medication for his medical condition on a regular schedule, which impacted him gravely. I reported this matter and many other issues with 311 and DOC constituents reports. I’ve never received any responses regarding any of my concerns. That is why I’ve been fighting for the federal courts to intervene by appointing an independent receiver to improve conditions at Rikers until the city shuts it down once and for all. I am thankful that the City Council has finally spoken up about the federal receivership and has asked the court that any receiver follow the city law to close Rikers. I urge that the City Council hold Mayor Adams accountable for shutting down Rikers, as his agenda since day one has been to keep Rikers open. That is unacceptable!
Kevin Valentine, Member of the Katal Center, said: “I have been involved with the criminal legal system and I’m grateful to be here today. Grateful to be with my family, friends and community. I have been so concerned and saddened with the many deaths of incarcerated people held behind bars in NYC since Mayor Adams took office. The appointment of an independent receiver to manage the jails to improve conditions and save lives is one way to address this grave concern. No one should have to fear for their lives while being detained. After we’ve been organizing around this demand, it was only a matter of time for the City Council to make a statement regarding the federal court hearings about Rikers. I am glad that they set forwarded parameters for what the powers and oversight should look like if a receiver is appointed. However, our central demand for Mayor Adams to shut down Rikers remains a top priority, and the council should hold this administration accountable!”
Sharon McLennon Wier, Ph.D., MSEd., CRC, LMHC, Executive Director of CIDNY, said: “The Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY) advocates for all people with disabilities living in the city of New York. We know that disabled people with mental health disabilities, learning disabilities, medical disabilities and behavioral health disabilities are at times incarcerated at Rikers Island. These individuals must receive the accommodations, treatments, and services needed to fully participate in their legal process. CIDNY supports the City Council letter that denotes the deplorable conditions at Rikers Island and calls for closure. Until that happens, receivership is a path to achieving Disability rights for these disabled residents.”
Michael McQuillan, from the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue’s Social Justice Committee, said: “The Council letter is evidence of the efficacy of organizing. The Katal Center’s years long City Hall presence, Foley Square rallies, grassroots canvassing, hearing testimony and court monitoring toward securing a Federal Receiver and Rikers Island’s closure is democracy in action.”
King Downing, Healing Justice director of the American Friends Service Committee NY/NJ, said: “We support the city council’s letter calling for a federal receiver to support efforts to close Rikers Island, we thank all the organizations whose advocacy helped make this happen. This fight is not over. We call on other organizations of conscience to join us to make sure the Council and receiver commit to closing Rikers on time as contracted.”
Donna Hylton, founder and president of A Little Piece of Light, said: “Like many of our members at A Little Piece of Light, I’ve been incarcerated on Rikers. I’ve experienced firsthand the awful conditions, the violence, the disregard for human life. But these experiences weren’t unique. Everyone incarcerated at Rikers faces horrific conditions. And all too often, certain populations, like women, LGBTQ people, gender variant people and young people, are targeted for particularly heinous violence and abuse. Rikers has been a hellhole for decades. As the situation at Rikers is getting even worse under Mayor Adams, we’re glad to see the Council call for any receiver to advance efforts to close Rikers. Rikers must be shut down, and until then, the federal courts should appoint an independent receiver to improve conditions and save lives.”
Statement from Melanie Dominguez, New York Director of Organizing, Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice. “Our members, many of whom have been incarcerated at Rikers and who have family members of people currently incarcerated there, have fought for over two years for the City Council to take action around the pending receivership at Rikers. We’re grateful to see the council respond and include our central demand of closing Rikers in their letter to the court.
This is a good first step, but more must be done. The City Council can no longer stand idly by as the mayor abandons the plan to close Rikers and works to subject more New Yorkers to the horrors of Rikers. This week, with the mayor further aligning with the president’s criminalization agenda that will harm our city, separate immigrant families, and move us further away from shutting Rikers, the City Council must step up and act firmly in this moment. The mayor has no regard for the law –whether it’s around closing Rikers or upholding sanctuary city protections– and it is dangerous to everyday New Yorkers. The Council should use every oversight and budgetary tool at its disposal to oppose the mayor and hold him accountable for shutting down Rikers.”
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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