City officials from the Department of Correction (DOC) recently faced a significant setback in their efforts to address the growing overcrowding at Rikers Island.
Correction Department leaders requested a variance to expand bed capacity in certain dormitories from 50 to 60 beds, a measure aimed at accommodating an increasing jail population that has risen to 7,645 inmates.
This appeal was deemed necessary as the city grapples with a serious overcrowding crisis exacerbated by a state prison strike earlier this year that disrupted the normal flow of detainee transfers.
On June 28, Correction Department Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie officially presented the variance request to the Board of Correction, the governing body that establishes regulations for city jails, stating, “If we don’t get the variance, we will have 130 people without beds.”
Despite the urgency, the Board of Correction failed to secure enough votes to pass the measure, with a 4-1 vote in favor and one abstention leaving the request short of the five votes needed for approval.
The absence of Commissioner Maginley-Liddie at the board meeting was notable, as her spokesperson, Patrick Gallahue, expressed disappointment with the board’s decision shortly after the vote.
“It is unfortunate that the Board fails to grasp the severity of the crisis faced by our jails due to the issues impacting the State system,” Gallahue remarked, emphasizing that the DOC is obligated to make decisions prioritizing the safety of all individuals in their facilities.
The struggle to expand housing at Rikers comes amidst ongoing scrutiny of the jail system, highlighted by a recent ruling from Manhattan federal court Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain, who announced her intention to appoint an independent “remediation manager” to oversee much-needed reforms.
At the board hearing, Dr. Robert Cohen, a long-time member and vocal critic of the DOC, denounced the move to increase capacity. He announced his resignation after 16 years, asserting that there is no comprehensive long-term plan to alleviate the jail population.
“Fundamentally, jails are bad places,” Cohen argued, adamantly resisting the idea of making Rikers even larger.
Cohen’s dissent, along with Dr. Lauren Stossel’s abstention, effectively doomed the variance request.
DOC officials have repeatedly cited limitations in their ability to control the intake of new detainees, pointing fingers at the state prison system’s delays in accepting transfers.
As of the latest count, there are 1,008 “state-ready” detainees still in Rikers, individuals who have already been sentenced to more than a year in prison and are awaiting transfer to appropriate state facilities.
Commissioner Maginley-Liddie revealed in her variance request that the number of state-ready individuals has spiked by approximately 451% since February, indicating a serious backlog in the system.
While the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has been gradually taking around 30 state-ready detainees each week, this measure has proven insufficient to keep up with new intakes.
Moreover, Maginley-Liddie disclosed that 177 individuals are currently awaiting placement in New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) beds, many of whom have been determined unfit for trial following failed psychiatric evaluations.
The situation at Rikers is further complicated by the recent extreme heat waves, which have left many detainees in poorly ventilated areas, prompting concerns about their health and well-being.
Reports of canceled programs and instances of detainees falling ill due to the heat stress have emerged from various advocacy groups, with Fortune Society CEO Stanley Richards commenting on the aging and inadequate infrastructure at the facilities.
“The facilities are old and dilapidated and don’t have the infrastructure capacity to both keep incarcerated people and officers safe — and manage in times of extreme heat,” Richards lamented, recalling conditions in which officers and detainees alike struggled with inadequate cooling resources.
During the board meeting, two recent detainee deaths, occurring a mere 90 minutes apart on June 21, were highlighted as tragic examples of the ongoing crisis at Rikers. These fatalities marked the sixth and seventh deaths in the facility this year, prompting urgent calls for reform.
Cohen opened the meeting with a plea for immediate intervention, asserting that the current conditions in Rikers represent a failure of the city and state to safeguard lives.
“Forty deaths in the Adams administration is 40 deaths too many,” he insisted, emphasizing the critical need to reassess incarceration practices.
He advocated for the release of non-violent offenders and urged Judge Swain to appoint a remediation manager capable of implementing meaningful changes at Rikers.
Cohen’s tenure on the board was characterized by a commitment to advocating for reform, driven by grassroots support from various advocacy coalitions.
However, ongoing tensions between the DOC and the Board of Correction have escalated, with previous actions by the Adams administration highlighted, such as the blocking of the board’s new rules aimed at limiting solitary confinement.
Reflecting on the longstanding problems plaguing Rikers, Cohen stated, “Finally, Rikers Island is a hellhole. It’s a firetrap, its locks don’t lock, and it’s dangerous to all those who work and live there.”
image source from：thecity
