FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM OCTOBER 24, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
City Council approves plan to close Rikers
Island and build four borough-based jails
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A new path forward for the
city’s criminal justice system was
forged Th ursday, Oct. 17 when
the full City Council voted in
favor of the de Blasio administration’s
plan to close the notorious
jail complex on Rikers
Island and build four new borough
based detention facilities.
Th e 36-to-13 vote passing the
$8.7 billion land use plan came
aft er aft er Mayor Bill de Blasio
and Speaker Corey Johnson
reached a deal on a wide-range
of community investments totaling
$391 million, including $126
million that was previously
planned and $265 million in new
programming that will address
the root causes of incarceration
that was announced for the fi rst
time just prior to the vote.
“When we pledged to close
Rikers Island, we made a promise
to transform a broken criminal
justice system and give back
to communities that have experienced
the eff ects of mass incarceration
fi rsthand,” de Blasio said.
“By investing in neighborhoods
and putting people on the path to
success, we are making good and
getting closer to a day when we’re
the fairest big city in America.”
To get to this point, the number
of New Yorkers entering jail
has declined by nearly half in the
past six years. Th e jail population
has declined from 11,000 in 2014
to about 7,000 today, and is projected
to be approximately 3,300
by 2026.
“For too long, the city’s answer
to every societal problem was to
throw people in jail. Because of
that, we lost generations to mass
incarceration, mostly young men
of color,” Johnson said. “Th ese
investments are at the heart of
our plan to close Rikers.”
Th e plan adds over $71 million
for alternatives to detention
and incarceration and reforms to
the Department of Correction,
building on $126 million in
annual investments to reduce
justice involvement, support
communities, and make our justice
system smaller.
Councilwoman Karen
Koslowitz said she will sleep well
at night with her vote in favor
of the plan, which will build a
smaller prison than was originally
planned in her district at the
old Queens Detention Complex
in Kew Gardens.
“I am very proud of the community
The City Council approved the plan to close the prisons on Rikers Island and replace them with borough-based facilities last week.
investments that I have
secured from the administration,”
Koslowitz said. “As a result
of these investments, our seniors
will receive the services they
deserve, our children will be better
equipped to succeed and the
community overall will benefi
t. Moving forward it will be
my imperative that these investments
will be implemented in a
timely and responsible manner.”
Such investments aff ecting
the borough includes updates to
the Queens Community House
on Kew Gardens Road and
expansion of the Cure Violence
programming at the 113th
Precinct in southeast Queens.
Another key part of the agreement
addressed parking in Kew
Gardens where the city will create
676 public parking spaces,
and increase of 150 above the
initial design and 605 additional
parking spaces so Department
of Correction personnel will not
utilize public parking.
“Closing Rikers Island is one
of the most important votes this
council has ever taken, but these
critical investment in restoring
and healing our communities are
the most eff ective part of the plan
that will drastically reduce our
incarcerated population by providing
opportunities for at-risk
New Yorkers,” Councilman
Donovan Richards said. “Locally,
increased investment in the Crisis
Management System in southeast
Queens and a community justice
center in Rockaway will help
divert New Yorkers away from
the criminal justice system before
they get caught in a system for the
rest of their life. Th e work doesn’t
end today, since we will have to
hold this administration and the
next accountable to the progress
that must be made over the next
few years until Rikers in shutdown
forever.”
Th e deal for investment in
community-based resources
was applauded by Th e Fortune
Society, the Long Island Citybased
nonprofi t that helps formerly
incarcerated people re-enter
society.
QNS/File
“For too long, and at great
human and fi nancial cost, our
jails have warehoused people
on minor off enses whose unmet
needs of homelessness and
untreated mental illness could
have been addressed while they
were at liberty in the community
and before they ever became
involved in the criminal justice
system,” Fortune Society
President and CEO JoAnne Page
said. “”With these key investments
in housing, mental health
services, gun violence prevention
and youth services, these
vulnerable New Yorkers can
get the help they so desperately
need, while we continue to build
a safer and more just city.”
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