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 — May 29, 2025
In this issue: – NY Senate Passes SCOC Bill – SCOC Press Conference in Albany – Katal in the News (both op-eds) – NY Statewide Call – Quotes of the Week
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Katal New York Update — May 15, 2025
In this issue: -SCOC Budget Wins and Movement in the Senate -Federal Courts Takes Control of Rikers -Katal Testifying at Public Hearing on Prison Crisis -Dignity Not Detention Rally -Quotes of the Wee…
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Katal New York Update — May 1, 2025
In this issue: – Organizing to Overhaul SCOC – No ICE on Rikers – Weekly Pro-Democracy Phone Zaps – Statewide CJ Reform Call
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Katal New York Update — April 17, 2025
In this issue: – Rally at Gov. Hochul’s Office – Fighting Back Against ICE at Rikers – Workshop with BroSis – Weekly Pro-Democracy Phone Zaps – Quotes for the Week
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Katal New York Update — April 3, 2025
In This Issue: -Press Conference in Albany to Increase Jail and Prison Oversight -Another Death at Rikers this Week -Saturday 4/5: Hands Off! National Day of Action -Weekly Pro-Democracy Phone Zaps…
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Katal Connecticut Update — March 27, 2025
In this issue: -Supporting Cultivating Justice -Weaver High School Career Fair -Get Involved to Fix Probation in Connecticut -Pro-Democracy Phone Zap -Quotes of the Week
