8 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 20, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Justice advocates, elected offi cials rally
in support of Rikers Island hunger strike
Protesters and elected offi cials gathered outside Rikers Island on Jan. 13 to stand in solidarity with reported hunger strikers on the island.
Many advocates and elected offi cials are calling
for the facility to be decarcerated.
Andre Ward, associate vice president of The David Rothenberg
Center for Public Policy at The Fortune Society
Photos by Dean Moses
Christopher Boyle, an attorney who also serves as director of data
research and policy for the New York County Defenders Service.
BY DEAN MOSES
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Th rongs of elected offi cials and human
rights advocates rallied Th ursday, Jan. 13,
outside Rikers Island where hundreds of
prisoners are reportedly staging a hunger strike.
Th e conditions inside the penal island
have long been decried by advocacy groups,
formerly incarcerated individuals, and
friends and family members of those still
on the inside. Yet, according to Christopher
Boyle, an attorney and director of
data research and policy for the New York
County Defenders Service who also served
as a whistle-blower on the hunger strike,
prisoners are attempting to protest what
are said to be appalling conditions and
treatment through nonviolent means.
A coalition of protest groups such as
Th e Fortune Society and #HALTsolitary
were joined by a host of elected offi cials
beneath the Rikers Island entrance sign
on Hazen Street and 19th Avenue in order
to demand immediate action by the mayor
and the Department of Corrections (DOC)
in what they are calling a crisis.
Elected offi cials who have visited the jail
are also calling upon the mayor’s offi ce to
take action, going as far as to say that the
facility should be immediately closed.
“We must end the practice of solitary
confi nement. It is torture. It has devastated
so many, especially our LGBT+ and trans
communities in particular. We must shut
down Rikers Island now. Shut it down,”
Council member Shekar Krishnan said.
Yet DOC
is denying
the hunger
strike outright,
claiming that
reports of a
strike are
exaggerated
and
instead prisoners are merely refusing to
consume institutional food and instead
eating commissary food.
When presented
with this
rebuke,
Boyle
told amNewYork
Metro that
DOC is dancing
around the
issue.
Boyle charged that many of those serving
time do not have the fi nancial means
to purchase other food.
Advocates also strove to remind attendees
that many of those inside the
prison are awaiting trial and have yet
to be convicted of a crime, meaning
that innocent individuals could also
be facing what visitors
say are inhumane
conditions.
With the purchase of glasses,
contact lens e l.
2 Boxes of Lenses Frames & Lenses
DESIGNER FRAMES
PLUS FREE 2ND PAIR
* $200 minimum purchase on first pair of designer
frames. Second pair frame from select group with
Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this
location only. Not valid with any other offers, sales,
vision plans or packages.
Offer ends 1/31/22
offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present
prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only.
Offer ends: 1/31/22
������������������������������brand clear sphericalLenses/*Contact
lens fitting additional. Not valid for Toric lenses. Not valid with
any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must
present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only.
Some restrictions apply, see store for details.
Offer ends: 1/31/22
Select frames with clear plastic, single vision lensas
vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase.
Offer valid at this location only. Some restrictions apply,
see store for details
Offer ends: 1/31/22
NEW YEAR'S SALES
9 FLEX SPENDING 9
USE IT OR LOSE IT!
SUNGLASSES
SALE
jail
e to
ary
ted
ans
of When
sented wi
am
ork Metr
is
ing aroun
and
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
