NYC Comptroller Lander, Public Advocate Williams, Council Member Rivera Recognize Improvements, Call Out Solitary Confinement Conditions Following Surprise Inspection of Rikers

New York, NY – New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Council Member and Chair of the Criminal Justice Committee Carlina Rivera released the following statements after an unannounced visit to Rikers Island to survey the conditions of the corrections facility. The elected officials investigated the ongoing use of solitary confinement.

“Last week, my office released our new DOC dashboard to provide public transparency about what is happening in our jail system — but transparency requires going beyond the charts and graphs,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. “Despite the fact that the average cost for a night at Rikers is more than that of a five-star hotel, the conditions of people detained raise human rights alarm bells. Over the past year since my last visit, the Department of Correction has made real improvements in the intake process and in punitive segregation, where most of the detainees we spoke to were receiving 7 to 10 hours out of their cells, in compliance with State law. But we still observed a number of individuals in ‘involuntary protective custody’ in a form of solitary confinement that the UN has declared torture. I talked to one man who’s been in a small holding cell for 48 hours without a bed or a blanket awaiting transfer to a unit with mental health observation, because all of those units are full — since more than half the population at Rikers has some mental health needs. Perhaps most heartwrenching was a man who has been on Rikers awaiting trial for eight years, spending the majority of his detention in the infirmary. Despite record spending and increased scrutiny, the Department of Correction is still failing in its basic obligations to the human beings in our government’s custody.”

“Across years and administrations, Rikers is a crisis for people on both sides of the bars,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “On our unannounced inspection today we saw marked improvements from the most horrific conditions of a year ago. At the same time, when twelve people have lost their lives in custody already this year, the reform plans in place have not moved fast enough to confront deep systemic issues. Truly ending solitary confinement, decreasing the amount of time New Yorkers await trial on the island, and safe staffing must be prioritized as part of the work to address dangerous, damaging conditions.”

“In a year when the humanitarian crisis at Rikers Island has led to the loss of 12 lives, we cannot be complacent with administrative tweaks and must continue to push toward our goals of closing Rikers Island and ending solitary confinement,” said Carlina Rivera, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Criminal Justice. “While the Department of Correction has taken action to correct some of their outstanding operational issues, very serious concerns around health and safety continue to exist on Rikers Island including missed medical appointments, facility issues, an officer staffing crisis and a lack of action steps to decrease the population. I hope to see DOC make progress on providing secure closures for cell doors, ensuring everyone has access to their necessary medical treatment, and implementing more programs to ensure the health and safety of those incarcerated, DOC staff, and all impacted communities.”

Last week, Comptroller Lander released a public oversight and accountability dashboard to provide detailed, timely metrics to assess progress on addressing ongoing safety and operational issues at the Department of Correction (DOC), including staff absenteeism, rates of violence, and the rising incarcerated population that perpetuates the chaos of the City’s jail system.

In June, Public Advocate Williams and Council Member Rivera introduced Intro. 549, which prohibits the punitive practice of solitary confinement, closing loopholes previously used by the Department of Correction (DOC) to continue solitary in all but name– as the elected officials witnessed on their visit. The urgency of this issue has heightened as the DOC missed its required date of July 1st to implement its own reforms to punitive segregation, and as 12 people have lost their lives in DOC custody to date this year.

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