Author Archive
Opinion
Opinion
Commentary: Yet another hearing about sexual violence on Rikers Island
This time the City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee chair Sandy Nurse voiced her frustration at the Department of Correction’s continuing failure to provide transparency.
Policy
Policy
NYC paid $160 million in settlements under Child Victims Act
Payouts were mostly for cases filed against the Department of Education, as former investigators at an independent watchdog claimed they were told to reverse substantiated allegations of child sex abuse.
Heard Around Town
Personality
Dustup at Gracie over DOC official’s lack of social media postings
Press secretary Annais Morales told Miriam Singh, the agency’s compliance officer, that other agency staff deserved their turn.
Adams probes
Politics
Direction of Rikers receivership could soon change if Eric Adams is out and Jumaane Williams takes over
Should the mayor no longer be in office before Nov. 12, the public advocate would be in charge and answering a judge’s order to outline what a receiver’s role will look like.
Policy
Policy
Where do first responders turn when they need help?
An anonymous mental health care program created in 2019 for NYPD members could become the blueprint for a national program.
News & Politics
Politics
One of NYC’s most storied political clubs invests in its future by preserving its past
The Village Independent Democrats finds new home for its seventy-year old records trove in the Village Preservation Society’s Archives
News & Politics
Politics
Will new correction officers union contract boost recruitment for DOC?
The agency losing five officers to attrition for every new hire is offering raises and bonuses, although some of the promised perks in the deal have come into question.
NYPD
Policy
How $1.2 billion in NYPD civil litigation case settlements and monetary awards went unreported
An investigation of public records shows the Law Department’s mandated reporting has not provided full transparency.
New York City
Personality
Family of man incarcerated at Rikers who died after botched heart surgery wins $6.1 million jury award
Juan Francisco Hidalgo Flores died at a prison ward at Bellevue Hospital.
Opinion
Opinion
Commentary: A look at the new New York City Department of Correction Commissioner’s attempts at transparency show slow to no progress
Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, previously the first deputy commissioner of the department, made tall promises to the Board of Correction that she didn’t deliver on.
Politics
Politics
DOC critic Jacqueline Sherman tapped for reappointment to Board of Correction
The mayor's office had hoped to replace Sherman when her term expired, but a behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign succeeded in keeping her on the board of the jails watchdog.
MagazineShow All
Policy
Policy
DOC stopped providing tampons to detainees – despite 2016 law mandating it
The Department of Correction has a problem with menstruation, amid fears that tampons will be used to smoke drugs and menstrual cups will be used for “splashings.”
Policy
Policy
Judge rejects state prison system’s attempt to dismiss lawsuit over solitary confinement
The class action lawsuit was filed by a group of people incarcerated in state prisons, including one man who was sent to solitary confinement for 120 days after throwing sugar packets and urinating on the floor.
News & Politics
Politics
Top DOC lawyer Paul Shechtman resigns
Shechtman’s decision to quietly step down last week suggests DOC Commissioner Louis Molina’s legal arguments may not even pass the smell test with his own lawyers.
News & Politics
Politics
Divisions within oversight agency may imperil lawsuit against DOC
The mayor’s new appointees could shift the balance of power on the Board of Correction, leading the watchdog agency to abandon its lawsuit against DOC.
Policy
Policy
Dying man’s cries for help at Rikers Island went unheeded, fellow detainees say
Two people in the same unit recalled how jail guards failed to respond to Donny Ubiera’s fight for his life.
Policy
Policy
After PR stunts, damning reports and a new lawsuit, judge sets stage for potential federal takeover of Rikers next year
Federal judge Laura Taylor Swain is losing patience with the city Department of Correction, which has now come under fire from the court-appointed federal monitor, Legal Aid Society, federal prosecutors, city comptroller and Board of Correction.
Policy
Policy
More people have died in New York City jails than previously known
Since 2014, at least 120 people held in city jails have died while in custody or shortly after being released on medical grounds – but some of those deaths have gone unreported.
Opinion
Opinion
Commentary: Shedding light on NYC jail commissioner’s inaction shows what a different story he’s telling
Despite what Louis Molina has promised the Board of Correction, the oversight panel’s work continues to be stonewalled.
Commentary
Opinion
Commentary: How a progressive majority on the NYC Board of Correction had the upper hand over City Hall
Two new members of the panel Tuesday tipped the balance of power in favor of more progressive reforms for the first time in nine years.
