Katal In Albany to Advance Jail and Prison Oversight
Katal members, interns, and staff in Albany pushing for jail and prison oversight, 2.25.25
Across the state, correctional facilities are dangerous and deadly for incarcerated people. Within the last week alone, two people have died at Rikers, bringing the number of people who have died since Eric Adams became mayor in 2022 to at least 35.
Since the prison guards began their wildcat strike on February 17th, at least seven people have died in state prisons, underscoring the crisis unfolding in correctional facilities across the state. Over the weekend, news broke about the killing of Messiah Nantwi, 22-years-old, at Mid-State Correction Facility, which is across the street from Marcy Correctional Facility where Robert Brooks was murdered in December. Fifteen DOCCS employees have been placed on administrative leave following the death of Mr. Nantwi.
Our members, many of whom have been incarcerated in local jails and state prisons and who are family members of people currently incarcerated there, are deeply concerned about what’s unfolding in New York’s correctional facilities.
Last Tuesday, we headed to Albany to demand lawmakers take action to address the dire conditions in jails and prisons across New York. The entity responsible for oversight of corrections facilities in New York, the State Commission of Correction (SCOC), is clearly failing its constitutional mandate to ensure that state prisons and local jails are “safe, stable, and humane.”
In Albany, we spoke to dozens of lawmakers about (S. 856)-Salazar / (A.2315)-Gallagher to expand and strengthen the SCOC to ensure it meets its mandate with regard to jails and prisons throughout the state. We picked up several new co-sponsors in the Assembly including AM Kwani O’Pharrow, AM Andrew Hevesi, and AM Deborah Glick.
Support is growing for this critical legislation and nearly 50 community, advocacy, and faith-based groups have signed on in support. If you’d like to add your organization to the list, please sign on here!
For individuals, take action here to email your Senator and Assemblymember and ask them to pass (S.856)-Salazar/(A.2315)-Gallagher!
For more information about the bill, check out our fact sheet here.
If you have any questions or want to get involved in the fight, please reach out to Yonah at Yonah@katalcenter.org.
Rally and March To Demand Hochul Remove Adams
Rally in Foley Square demanding Hochul remove Adams, 2.27.25
Last Thursday, prior to the City Council Stated Meeting, we held a rally in Foley Square and then marched to City Hall to demand Governor Hochul remove Mayor Adams from office. For the second week in a row, we joined New York Communities for Change, Make the Road NY, The Black Institute, Jews for Economic & Racial Justice, and Food and Water Watch on the streets to fight back against Adams’s attempt to skirt NYC’s sanctuary laws by collaborating with ICE, and criminalizing immigrants.
Here’s a quote from our member Eugene Mccabe:
“The alignment between Mayor Adams and President Trump puts all of our communities in harm’s way. It is clear that Mayor Adams is only looking out for himself and is not concerned about the well-being of everyday New Yorkers. Communities across the city are already living in a state of fear from the heightened level of surveillance and over-policing. Unfortunately, I foresee more money being put into the NYPD to carry out their tactics of intimidation and criminalization of immigrant, Black, brown, and low-income New Yorkers. This will continue to drive up the city’s jail population, which has skyrocketed under the Adams administration and moves us further away from closing Rikers. We cannot go backward and let ICE operate in the city’s local jails to target and further criminalize immigrants. Under Adams, conditions at Rikers have worsened, and two people died in city jails in the last week — at least 35 people have died in DOC custody since Adams took office. This is unacceptable! Governor Hochul must remove Mayor Eric Adams from office. Lives are at stake. NYC needs a mayor who will protect all New Yorkers and shut down Rikers.”
See the full press release here.
Check out coverage of the rally on ABC7 and CBSNEWS.
If you’re interested in joining the fight to shut down Rikers and hold Mayor Adams accountable, please contact Melanie at melanie@katalcenter.org.
Picket at City Hall demanding Hochul remove Adams, 2.27.25
Pro-Democracy Phone Zaps
Yesterday, Wednesday, March 5th, we started our weekly Pro-Democracy Phone Zaps! Every Wednesday in March, from 12-12:45pm (EST), we’re gathering on Zoom to call our elected officials. We’ll start by calling our congressional representatives in D.C. to demand they take action to stop the coup and defend democracy, then we’ll call our state-based officials about local campaigns. If you’ve been looking for a starting point to take action, this is a great place to jump in!
Join us for our next Pro-Democracy Phone Zap on Wednesday, March 12th. Register here!
If you have any questions, please reach out to Lily at lily@katalcenter.org. We hope to see you there!
Katal in the News
- Prism: Our organizing director Melanie Dominguez discusses how Mayor Adams has missed every benchmark to shut down Rikers, especially when it comes to reducing the city’s jail population.
- Salon: Our advocacy director Yonah Zeitz calls on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to protect immigrant New Yorkers and for the removal of Eric Adams.
Katal Quotes of the Week
These are some of the quotes we’re thinking about this week.
“When we cast our bread upon the waters, we can presume that someone downstream whose face we will never know will benefit from our action, as we who are downstream from another will profit from that grantor’s gift.” –Maya Angelou
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” –Frederick Douglass
For printing and distribution, download the Katal Weekly Update PDF version.
Katal works to develop intergenerational leadership and organizing capacity to build community-based power and win systemic change for equity, health, and justice.
Join us: web, Bluesky, Instagram & Facebook!
Email: info@katalcenter.org
Phone: 646.875.8822
