The New York City Council passed a measure that members say will decrease the number of people currently being held in custody if their cases can be resolved ahead of time, or when their release would not pose a risk to public safety.
The bill’s expected passage on Thursday is the latest attempt to reduce New York City's jail population with the ultimate goal of closing Rikers Island, the city's largest jail, by 2027.
“We must ensure that people who do not belong in jail are not languishing there,” said Councilmember Carlina Rivera, the bill's sponsor, at a meeting ahead of the vote on Thursday. Rivera represents parts of Manhattan, including Gramercy Park and the East Village.
The yearslong effort to close the city's largest jail began when former Mayor Bill de Blasio introduced a plan to shut down Rikers and set up smaller jails throughout the city in 2017. Mayor Eric Adams inherited the strategic plan to close Rikers, which has been plagued with lengthy stays for detainees and alarming living conditions for those in custody.
The jail population continued to climb during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when court cases were significantly delayed. Adams has hinted at a “Plan B” if the city can’t reach the deadline in time.
Before Thursday’s Council meeting, Speaker Adrienne Adams doubled down on the city’s commitment to shutting down Rikers before the legally mandated deadline, stating that officials “can not allow Rikers to remain open.”
“It’s abundantly clear that Rikers is undermining public safety for New York City,” she said. “It exposes everyone there – staff and people who are detained – to violence and trauma and it exacerbates existing challenges for people to successfully re-enter their communities.”
The measure establishes a jail population review program that will include assessing the mental and physical health, as well as previous behavioral history, of those in custody to assess whether they can be released. Under the bill, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice will establish the criteria and population review program.
The bill is part of a package of bills introduced by Rivera during this legislative session. She also introduced measures that would require the Department of Corrections to issue an annual report on its population of pregnant inmates and another that would expand the number of people eligible to receive mental health assistance instead of imprisonment.
During the meeting, Rivera said it is the Council’s responsibility “to hold this administration accountable to the legal mandate.”
“We are putting forward legislative solutions to keep us on track, and address the deep dysfunction present in our city jails,” Rivera said.
