Bronx Supreme Court finds Department of Correction in contempt for denying Rikers Island detainees access to medical care
NEW YORK -- A Bronx Supreme Court on Tuesday found the Department of Correction in contempt for denying detainees on Rikers Island access to medical care.
Now, failure to comply with a court order could cost the city hundreds of dollars in fines.
Hours later, under intense pressure from the federal government, the DOC is outlining a plan for what it describes as a complete overhaul. It includes undefined changes to the unlimited sick leave policy causing staff shortage, the promise to quickly fire or discipline those abusing the policy, and continued searches that have already led to the confiscation of thousands of weapons.
This comes as four detainees have died in custody this year alone. Twenty have died since January 2021.
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams released the following statement in response to the plan:
"Rikers Island is in a dangerous state of ongoing crisis that demands immediate action to protect people on both sides of the bars. The Action Plan finally put forth by the city provides a framework, a base, that could potentially address some of the aspects contributing to that crisis. As the federal monitor repeatedly noted, though, that potential is predicated on hypothetical – IF the city truly follows through with diligent, swift action and delivers on the promises of the plan, conditions could be improved and lives saved.
"We've seen promises made and abandoned related to Rikers before, and my office will be watching and working with this administration to ensure that the plan is put into practice, that the people working now to provide essential, restorative services for incarcerated New Yorkers are at the center of solutions, and that all of these efforts are carried out while working toward the legal and moral mandate of closing Rikers Island for good."
At a rally Tuesday in memory of inmates who died in custody, Tina Luongo, with the Legal Aid Society, said, "None of us have faith. The communities, the family members, the mother, no one has faith because we've seen nothing from anybody."
Next week, a federal judge will review the plan.
If it's rejected, the city could be stripped of its authority to run the Rikers jail complex, an option Mayor Eric Adams is fighting.