Katal In New York
Shut Rikers Campaign
#ShutRikers is a campaign of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice. Katal and our allies are working to cut the number of people incarcerated and the budgets used for caging people; shut down Rikers Island; and invest in real public safety: housing, health care, education, and jobs.
Increasing Jail and Prison Oversight
With jails and prison from Rikers to Marcy in crisis, New York needs and deserves an effective independent watchdog for its correctional facilities. The State Commission of Correction (SCOC) is an independent body mandated with the constitutional authority to ensure that correctional facilities across New York – all local jails and state prisons – are “safe, stable and humane,” but for more than 20 years, the SCOC has consistently failed to meet its responsibility.
On December 19th, Governor Hochul signed into law the Jail and Prison Oversight Omnibus Bill (S.8415 (Salazar)/A.8871 (Dilan), which consists of ten oversight and accountability bills. Section H of the omnibus bill includes provisions to overhaul the SCOC by expanding and diversifying the commission to include a formerly incarcerated person.
demanding Federal Receivership at Rikers
Since Mayor Eric Adams took office, the overlapping crises and scandals on Rikers Island have worsened. With violence out of control and the jail population steadily rising, dysfunction continues to reign at the New York City Department of Correction (DOC). Starting more than two years ago, we started ratcheting up demands for the federal courts to intervene to improve conditions at Rikers until it is shut down. On May 13, U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued a decision to take Rikers Island out of the city’s control and appoint an independent “remediation manager” to address the constitutional violations. Check out our interview on NY1.
Statewide Criminal Justice Reform calls
Join us every month for the statewide call. The goals are:
- Share and highlight issues, campaigns, and projects that groups are working on to advance statewide reform;
- Identify ways to align, coordinate, and support each other in the work to end mass incarceration;
- Strengthen organizing and advocacy across issues and build movement in New York.
Calls are scheduled on the second Thursday of every month, at 12pm EST. Register now.
New York Membership
Bi-Weekly Katal Member Meeting: At these meetings, we come together with community members who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system, and we organize to change the system. We discuss building power, shutting down Rikers, and ending mass incarceration! To learn more, please contact NY Organizing Director, Melanie Dominguez, at melanie@katalcenter.org.
See Our Members in Action:
Take Action
Contact your local officials
Tell your representatives to support probation reform!
NY Monthy Calls
Join our monthly statewide criminal justice reform call. Launched in 2017, our monthly criminal justice reform calls are the best place to find out about organizing and advocacy campaigns for criminal justice reform in New York.
Connect with us on socials
We post regularly on our socials to showcase our upcoming actions as well as the amazing work happening in the Katal community!
New York Updates
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Katal New York Update — April 4, 2024
In this issue: -Rikers in Crisis: Another Death and Rampant Abuse -Tonight: Shut Rikers Info Session Hosted by the Black Caucus at the Columbia School of Social Work -Next Wednesday, April 10th: Shu…
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Katal New York Update — March 21, 2024
In this issue: -Victory! NYC City Council Overrides Mayor To Advance Safety and Accountability -Protesting Mayor Adams’s State of the City Address -Two People Die at Rikers in January Katal in the…
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Katal New York Update — March 20, 2024
In This Issue: -NY Legislative Passes Omnibus Bill, Which Overhauls the State Commission of Correction -June NY Statewide Criminal Justice Reform Call Recap -Weekly Pro-Democracy Phone Zaps -Katal In…
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Katal New York Update — March 6, 2024
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 dang…
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Katal New York Update — February 29, 2024
Next Thursday (3/7): Info Session on Rikers and Receivership Join us next Thursday, March 7, 2024, to learn more about what a receiver is and how it could impact efforts […]
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Katal Connecticut Update — February 22, 2024
Register Today: Growing Power, 2/24/24 Please join us on Saturday Feb 24th in Middletown for Growing Power— this incredible conference is bringing together farmers, activists, students, familie…
