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.”

By Glenn E. Martin
Rikers Island is a human gristmill with a deep-seated culture of violence and abuse that can’t be fixed.