Manhattan judge hears arguments on future of troubled Rikers Island
NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams says he's up to the job of fixing things on Rikers Island amid a federal court showdown over who should run the jails.
Prosecutors and advocates are seeking an outside receiver.
Community activists rallied in Foley Square on Thursday as Federal Judge Laura Taylor Swain listened to arguments -- pro and con -- about two proposals, holding the city in contempt for not fixing the conditions at the Rikers Island jail complex and taking the mayor out of the mix and giving control of the jails to an outside receiver.
- Related story: City's Council's Common Sense Caucus at odds with latest federal monitor's report on conditions at Rikers Island
"There is broad consensus across the city that Rikers Island is a failure, that the mayor of the city of New York no longer has the ability to run Rikers Island," City Councilman Lincoln Restler said.
At the hearing, the Legal Aid Society, which represents detainees, said the long-standing issues at Rikers, which go back more than a decade, call out for new blood.
Recent reports by the federal monitor, Steve Martin, have painted a picture of total chaos, poor facilities and dysfunction.
Comptroller Brad Lander was among the first to say let a receiver run the jails, but he says if the judge does it, she has to make sure there is a clear plan for the first 100 days.
"They need a 100-days list, and maybe that's getting people to their medical appointments and maybe that's continuing to reduce the number of correction officers out sick," Lander said.
Adams has made clear in the past that he thinks he's making progress in both reducing violence and reducing staff sick days.
"I am the best person in this administration to finally to turn around the Department of Correction," Adams said on July 18.
- Read more: Mayor Eric Adams insists he's still the best person to handle the crisis at Rikers Island
Earlier this week, members of the City Council's Common Sense Caucus toured Rikers and said that things are changing for the better. Queens Councilman Robert Holden compared conditions to a visit in September 2021.
"Complete turnaround, night and day," he said Tuesday. "There's a great atmosphere in there, so for anyone, any federal monitor to say that the conditions haven't improved, they're not telling the truth. They're lying."
The judge moved one step closer to holding the city in contempt and appointing a receiver, giving both sides until November to submit motions. She also said she has not given up on the city, which, she said, has made some progress but not enough.
Afterwards, Department of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina said he is still hoping to convince the judge he can turn things around.
The Legal Aid Society said they will argue for a federal takeover.