Seven people incarcerated on Rikers Island were being held in conditions that resembled solitary confinement, according to city politicians who made a surprise visit to the beleaguered lockup Monday morning.
The detainees were confined to a tiny two-part cell for almost the entire day and were only let out into an adjoining small and dark compartment, according to Comptroller Brad Lander, who toured the jail complex with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and the City Council’s Criminal Justice committee chairperson Carlina Rivera.