22 SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Gov. takes steps to address dire
conditions on Rikers Island
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Aft er a public outcry from lawmakers
who visited Rikers
Island and witnessed “deplorable
and deadly conditions” suff ered
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 offi cers. 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 Friday 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 diff erence in really
profoundly improving the situation.”
The dire conditions on Rikers Island
were amplifi ed aft er 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.
“Aft er 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 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 staffi ng problems
throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
State Senator Julia Salazar notedNew
York imprisons more people for noncriminal
“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 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.”
Photo by Kevin P. Coughlin
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