FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 26, 2024
Contact: Yonah Zeitz: yonah@katalcenter.org • 347-201-2769
Follow on Twitter/X @KatalCenter • #ShutRikers
As Mayor Adams is Indicted on Federal Criminal Charges, Judge on a Separate Case Again Opens Door for Federal Takeover at Rikers
Statement by Katal Center: Rikers Must be Shut Down
New York, NY: Yesterday, hours before Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on federal criminal charges, Federal Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the Department of Correction, the U.S. Attorney’s office, and the Legal Aid Society to meet and confer about the structure of a potential federal receivership at Rikers. Judge Swain will also issue a ruling promptly on whether to hold the Adams administration in contempt for failing to follow court orders to improve conditions and reduce violence at Rikers.
Since Mayor Eric Adams took office, the overlapping crises and scandals on Rikers Island – and in his administration – have worsened. With the Adams Administration now engulfed in multiple federal investigations, and with violence spiking and reigning dysfunction at Rikers, the federal courts are moving closer to taking over the jail complex.
Statement from Yonah Zeitz, New York advocacy director for the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice: “For our members, allies, and anyone else following the disaster that is Rikers under Mayor Eric Adams, this criminal indictment is not surprising. From day one, the mayor has simply ignored the law as it relates to closing Rikers, and instead he’s worked to keep it open. His administration has consistently refused to follow court-mandated orders to reduce violence and improve conditions, leading a federal judge to hold them in contempt of court with a second contempt charge now pending. The Adams administration has obstructed or otherwise tried to eliminate mechanisms of accountability and transparency at Rikers, including by outright lying to the federal monitor and stonewalling the Board of Correction. And under Mayor Adams’s leadership, we’ve seen dysfunction, scandals, and mismanagement become routine at the Department of Correction. So it’s no surprise that he’s now under federal criminal indictment for breaking the law. Whatever happens with this mayor or the next, we remain focused on shutting down Rikers and building the fair, just, healthy and equitable city all New Yorkers deserve.”
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