More than two dozen people sharing a single toilet. Bedsheets and clothes that haven't been washed in over a week. A ban on hand sanitizer. A dearth of soap, hot water, and medical care.
As more cases of COVID-19 are confirmed throughout the city, defense attorneys, criminal justice advocates and health experts are raising the alarm about the likelihood of the outbreak hitting incarcerated populations.
"It's a nightmare waiting to happen," said David Patton, the executive director of the Federal Defenders.
In recent days, the legal organization has been lobbying the federal Bureau of Prisons to share details about their virus preparedness, including any information about testing protocols and possible cases. The federal agency — which oversees nearly 4,000 incarcerated individuals, many of them pre-trial, at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan and Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn — has yet to respond.
"We're extremely worried. They can't run these places in the best of times," said Patton. "I can't possibly convey to you the amount of obfuscation and lack of transparency coming out of that institution."
Heightening these fears is the fact that MCC is still undergoing a partial lockdown, after investigators recovered a loaded weapon in the facility on Thursday. Patton says that the lockdown has led to even more cramped and unsanitary conditions at the jail, while cutting off detainees' ability to communicate with the outside world.
A 60-year-old detainee at MCC with a medical condition recently told his attorney that he hadn't showered in more than two weeks, and that he and his cellmates don't have hot water or soap to wash their hands. Alcohol-based sanitizer, which the Center for Disease Control has recommended to stem the spread of the virus, is considered contraband at many jails, including MCC, MDC, and state prisons.
"It seems crazy that, given the risk of people chugging hand sanitizer or the risk of viral outbreak, they'd err on the side of not having sanitizer," said Patton.
Some prisoners, meanwhile, are now expected to play an outsize role in helping free society survive the looming pandemic. If the city's death tolls were to rise dramatically, there are plans in place to send corpses to Hart Island, where detainees in the city's jail system would do the digging.
On Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled a new alcohol-based hand sanitizer manufactured by prisoners earning as little as 16 cents/hour at Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Washington County. Inquiries to the Governor's Office and the state correction's board about whether prisoners will have access to the product were not returned.
"We need assurances that the incarcerated will have adequate supplies, including hand sanitizers, but not limited to that," said State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, a Brooklyn representative. "Working water, soap, and prompt medical attention is critical. It's doubly important because our prisons are hidden from public view so transparency is paramount."
New York City's main jail complex, Rikers Island, is also facing concerns about its ability to handle an outbreak. On Monday, attorneys with the Legal Aid Society sent a letter to the NYC Board of Correction requesting more information about the availability of respiratory isolation beds, as well as water, soup and cleaning supplies.
A spokesperson for the Correctional Health Services told Gothamist/WNYC that the agency is screening patients at pre-arraignment and upon admission to the jail system "to recognize, isolate, and monitor as appropriate, individuals who may be high risk."
The spokesperson did not respond to multiple inquiries about whether anyone in custody is suspected of having the virus, or if Rikers detainees are permitted to use hand sanitizer.
"New York’s incarcerated populations are particularly vulnerable due to close confinement and, too often, subpar conditions," said Khalil A. Cumberbatch, a formerly incarcerated New Yorker and strategist with New Yorkers United for Justice Chief.
"We need measures in place for when an incarcerated individual does test positive."
Additional reporting by Cindy Rodriguez and Christopher Robbins.
