Gov. takes steps to address dire conditions
on Rikers Island following public outcry
BY BILL PARRY
After a public outcry from
lawmakers who visited Rikers
Island and witnessed “deplorable
and deadly conditions”
suffered by those incarcerated
in the complex, Governor
Kathy Hochul took action
Friday, Sept. 17, by signing the
Less is More Act.
The “decarceration bill”
will end the practice of sending
people to jail as they await
hearings over alleged technical
parole violations, such as
missed curfew and marijuana
use, which is expected to release
several hundred detainees
from city jails.
“I believe that what today
is about is protecting human
life, the lives of the people who
are incarcerated as well as the
correction officers. It’s about
protecting human rights. The
right to work in a safe environment,
the right to live and exist
in an environment that is
clean, hygienic, and above all
safe,” Hochul said. “It’s also
about protecting human dignity,
and this questions who
we are as a people when we
can allow situations as we’ve
seen in Rikers exist in a prosperous,
mighty city like New
York. The fact that this exists
is an indictment on everyone.”
In addition to signing
Less is More, Hochul also announced
an agreement with
the Department of Correction
to release nearly 200 incarcerated
individuals and another
200 people who have been sentenced
to at least 90 days will
be transferred from Rikers Island
to state facilities.
“She is acting to help us get
a number of people out of Rikers
immediately. It looks like
initially, that could be several
hundred people which is tremendously
helpful,” Mayor
Bill de Blasio said on his Sept.
17 radio appearance with Brian
Lehrer. “This governor has
done a lot more to help us just
in a matter of days than any
help we got previously. This
is going to make a huge difference
in really profoundly improving
the situation.”
The dire conditions on Rikers
Island were amplified after
a visit by more than a dozen
lawmakers including state
Senator Jessica Ramos and
Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzalez
Rojas, who recounted
their harrowing ordeal of seeing
one man attempt suicide in
front of them.
“After an eye-opening and
devastating visit to Rikers Island
this week, I’m grateful
Governor Hochul has signed
the Less Is More Act into law.
It is also relieving to know that
over one hundred ninety people
who are incarcerated are being
released immediately. And this
is still only one step of several
that my colleagues in government
TIMESLEDGER | Q 18 NS.COM | SEPT. 24 - SEPT. 30, 2021
must take to decarcerate,”
González-Rojas said.
González-Rojas reiterated
that she believes de Blasio
shoulduse correction law
to release more people on
the inside and that district
attorneys can and should
release people on pre-trial
detention.
“This is a public health
emergency. We are not past it
yet so we must continue to act
with urgency,” González-Rojas
said.
Already this year, 10 individuals
have died in the jail complex
that has been experiencing
dire staffing problems throughout
the COVID-19 pandemic.
State Senator Julia Salazar
noted New York imprisons
more people for non-criminal
“technical” violations of parole
than any other state in the
country.
“Governor Hochul signing
the Less is More bill today
means that thousands of New
Yorkers will be able to live
their lives without continuously
falling into the cycle of
injustice that is our parole system.
Given the unprecedented
human rights crisis at the
jails on Rikers Island and at
correctional facilities in New
York, we still have more work
to do,” Salazar said. “We must
also take legislative action to
further transform the parole
system and to reverse the devastating
toll of mass incarceration
on communities across
our state.”
Assemblyman David Weprin,
the chairman of the
Committee of Correction, explained
how the Less is More
Act will help end the punitive
Photo by Kevin P. Coughlin
practice of re-incarcerating
individuals allowing them to
reintegrate into their communities.
“For far too long, people
who are on parole have lived
in fear of a technical isolation,
like being late for curfew,
would send them back to
prison,” Weprin said. “We all
know that life happens. Anyone
who lives in New York
is aware that subways and
buses can run late and cause a
missed deadline. A non-criminal
technical parole violation
should not be a reason for families
to be separated from their
loved ones. I am proud to witness
this much-needed signing
today. I thank the sponsors of
the bill, legislative leadership,
the governor, and the advocates
for all of their tireless
work on this bill.”
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