8 JULY 12, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Queens leaders continue pushback against latest Rikers report
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
A report released this week
suggests a possible fast track
to lowering the prisoner population
at Rikers Island so the complex
can be closed for good, but two Queens
leaders are continuing to push back
against the fi ndings.
The study released on July 10 by
the Independent Commission on New
York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration
Reform says that expanding
the city's supervised release program
and increasing the number of suspects
released on recognizance could
lower the Rikers population by 2,000
inmates. Led by former New York
State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman,
the commission is also responsible for
releasing the 2017 report that recommended
the closure of Rikers Island.
According to Lippman, a "huge portion"
of people in jail are there simply
because they can't make bail, and the
commission believes that jail should
be a last resort.
"Supervised release can provide a
meaningful alternative to bail that
builds in appropriate accountability
for defendants while also allowing
them to be with their families, remain
in school, and continue working," Lippman
said in a press release. "The time
to act is now. By expanding supervised
release and the number of defendants
who are released on recognizance, we
can send fewer people to jail, accelerate
the timeline for closing Rikers, and
ensure better outcomes for thousands
of New Yorkers every year."
The current supervised release
program is administered by nonprofit
agencies — in Queens, the New
York City Criminal Justice Agency
(CJA) — that review defendants' cases
for eligibility prior to arraignment.
The be eligible for the program, a
defendant must be charged with a
misdemeanor or nonviolent felony
that does not involve domestic violence,
have verifiable community
ties and not have a high likelihood
of being re-arrested for a felony as
calculated by a risk assessment tool
created by the Mayor’s Office of
Criminal Justice.
While participating in the program,
defendants have to meet with a social
worker one to four times per month,
and the social worker reports back to
the judge at each court appearance
until the case is resolved.
First introduced as a pilot program
in Queens in 2009, the program was
then rolled out in Manhattan in 2013
before going into every borough in
2016 thanks to $17.8 million in funding
from the de Blasio administration over
the course of three years.
The latest expansion recommended
by the Independent Commission would
use supervised release as the "default
option" for all misdemeanor and
nonviolent felony cases, allow some
violent cases to enroll, educate judges
and attorneys about the benefi ts of the
program, identify barriers that inhibit
the program and increase the use of
release on recognizance. The study
also notes that the city has expanded
funding for supervised release to $12
million for the fi scal year 2019.
Queens County Senior Executive
Assistant District Attorney James
Quinn, on the other hand, expressed
his concern over expanding supervised
release on a call with the Ridgewood
Times. He and Councilman Robert
Holden have been some of the most
vocal Queens offi cials to oppose the
Independent Commission's fi ndings.
"The more expansive you make
that, the more you get into the career
criminals, and there's no way you
can do that without having an impact
on public safety," Quinn said. "In my
offi ce we have 25 to 30 programs we
put people into so they don't go into
jail, and the ones in Rikers are the ones
who have failed out or refused to go or
have records that would make them
dangerous to put into those programs."
The Independent Commission
notes in its report that 95 percent of
all participants in supervised release
programs in 2017 "avoided a felony
re-arrest while participating." A 2016
report from the CJA, however, notes
that 27 percent of participants in
Queens were re-arrested during their
program.
Holden also refuted the new report,
calling it a "playbook to make the
streets less safe." The councilman
pointed out the subjective nature
of court sentencing as problematic,
saying that many judges are very
lenient and there is no standard for
defendants who pose a high risk of
committing more crimes.
In May, Holden introduced legislation
calling on the creation of a commission
to study the cost of renovating Rikers
Island to compare that with the cost of
creating borough-based jails, and he
gained support from Queens Councilmen
Eric Ulrich and Paul Vallone.
The longtime civic activist referred
back to a time when crime was out of
control in the 1980s due to the drug
epidemic and said that he remembered
30 "purse snatchings" taking place on
Eliot Avenue in Middle Village over
the course of a month. Where the city
is now compared to then has been a
complete turnaround, Holden said.
The councilman added he has no
confidence that the study is well
thought out if Lippman is in charge
because "he is clueless about the reality
of the streets."
Photo courtesy of Independent Commission report
Some of the prisons on Rikers Island, with Queens and the Manhattan
skyline in the background.
LGBTQ youth center opens new location in Forest Hills
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
One of the longest-running support
centers for LGBTQ youth
in Queens recently found a new
home in Forest Hills that will greatly
improve its accessibility.
On June 28, Generation Q — a program
of Queens Community House (QCH)
— hosted a ribbon-cutting event for its
new location on 71st Road near Austin
Street, one of the neighborhood’s busiest
commercial strips with many public
transportation options. QCH Executive
Director Ben Thomases said in a press
release that the program now has huge
potential to expand in its new space.
“I’m excited about this new space
as it has so much more accessibility
to public transit,” Thomases said. “It
has huge growth potential under the
leadership of director Lindsey Duel.
Sitting on top of this transit hub, we
have the opportunity to bring young
people from all over the borough.”
For nearly 20 years, the Generation
Q program has provided a safe environment
for lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and queer youth in need.
Along with social and emotional support,
the program also features a wide
variety of recreational and educational
opportunities.
The center’s previous location was
on the bottom level of a public housing
unit on 62nd Drive. The new location —
107-20 71st Rd. — is a modern storefront
next to The Windsor at Forest Hills
apartment building.
Generation Q was founded in social
worker Larry Menzie’s living room in
April of 1999 with the help of Councilman
Daniel Dromm. Both were present
for the ribbon cutting, and Menzie told
the crowd of nearly 100 people, “I hope
that each time a young person walks
into this space, you do what can to
make them feel special and welcome. It
should be a moment they never forget.”
Dromm shared a tweet with photos
from the event in which he said he was
“thrilled” to see the growth of the program.
Photo courtesy of Queens Community House
Founders Daniel Dromm and Larry Menzie along with Generation Q
participants and partners at the program's ribbon cutting for its new
location on 71st Road in Forest Hills on June 28.
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