By Gloria Pazmino Politico New York Apr. 14, 2016 A coalition of groups pushing for the closure of Rikers Island rallied on the steps of City Hall Thursday asking Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration to consider shuttering the troubled facility and focus on smaller scale jails instead. “We are here to say that Rikers cannot be reformed — […]
Community members called on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to close the Rikers Island jail complex.
City officials have reviewed alternate sites to Rikers, but the de Blasio administration insists there’s no plan to close the troubled jail.
There have been attempts to force the closure of the Rikers Island jail for years, but Glenn Martin thinks that the failed efforts so far have been missing a key ingredient: “the community’s voice.â€
58 NYC organizations call for the closure of Rikers Island on the steps of City Hall
April 14, 2016 (New York, NY)— The #CLOSErikers coalition held a rally on the steps of New York City Hall today, in a major public kick-off of their campaign to close Rikers Island Jail Complex.
By Glenn E. Martin
Rikers Island is a human gristmill with a deep-seated culture of violence and abuse that can’t be fixed.
In 2016, a growing citywide coalition, led by JustLeadershipUSA, in partnership with the Katal Center for Health, Equity, and Justice, formed to organize and advocate for the closure of Rikers Island, and shrinkage and decentralization of NYC’s jail system.