As the clock ticks on a deadline for the New York City Council to vote on a controversial new borough jails plan, legislators approved a proposal they say would force lawmakers to shutter the notorious Rikers Island jail complex by 2026, reports Courthouse News Service. Though he acknowledged the still-considerable work left to do, Councilman Donovan Richards said closing Rikers would have an impact on the criminal-justice system nationally, if not internationally. Richards said, “We have a chance right here to send a national message: That Rikers Island, the most notorious jail in the country, is closing. Do you know how much of an impact that this has?”
The council faces an Oct. 17 vote over whether to build four new borough-based jails, part of a larger plan to decarcerate and dismantle the notoriously hellish Rikers Island jail complex. Until yesterday, there was no stipulation Rikers would actually close, and opponents feared the new plan was just an expansion. Members of the Land Use Committee this morning criticized the hastiness of the vote, with Councilwoman Inez Barron saying it did not leave time to consider unintended consequences. Councilman Andy King voted no Thursday. “I don’t see how closing Rikers corrects the system,” he said. “I’d like to see that these reforms actually have a positive impact before we start putting jails in everyone’s neighborhoods.”
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Councilman Andy King, “I AM WITH YOU” over 1000% , the Jails are not the problem, the People running the Jails, are who you need to get rid of, I think it’s just another form of Political Corruption, Money for some Construction Firms, and Money for some CORRUPT POLITICIANS, let’s face it, will building New Jails, and using the same People to run them, make any difference?, no, no, and NO.