A day after elected officials charged that Rikers Island has descended into a humanitarian crisis, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday an emergency plan to address horrid conditions on the city’s penal facility.
Using a combination of executive powers and public appeals for state courts to do more, de Blasio’s plan aims to address an array of problems on Rikers Island that, he charged, were the direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. His solutions include getting more corrections officers on patrol at Rikers, opening up unused space to expedite inmate processing, launching emergency repairs and convincing the state to take prisoners more swiftly.
