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Now Cuomo And De Blasio Are Squabbling About Rikers Island
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 25, 2017
Modified Aug 25, 2017
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By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 25, 2017
Modified Aug 25, 2017
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Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to close Rikers Island over 10 years was slammed by Governor Andrew Cuomo's office on Thursday—prompting a sharp response from City Hall.
Earlier in the week, 29 Rikers inmates were indicted for numerous beatings that targeted other inmates and corrections guards. One incident, according to the Daily News, involved "six inmates coat[ing] a security camera with peanut butter then put[ting] sheets over their heads and smash[ing] a rookie correction officer in the head with a chair."
Governor Cuomo's counsel Alphonso David issued a four-paragraph statement:
"Rikers is a savage and inhumane jail that has ruined the lives of too many New Yorkers. Most of its 7,000 inmates have not been found guilty of anything and are simply waiting for their day in court—some of them waiting for years. Many are subject to violence and abuse, as underscored by the charges brought by the Bronx District Attorney's office.
"This year, New York State ensured the majority of 16 and 17-year-olds will be removed from Rikers Island. It's time that New York City step up to the plate with a real plan to close this jail on a rapidly accelerated timeline.
"Saying it will take 10 years is tantamount to saying we have no real plan to close it. 10 years may see three different Mayors and three different City Councils. This proposed closing plan will have no relevance to those administrations—Governor Cuomo, for example, is not 10 years later implementing Governor Spitzer's plans.
"ln short, this 10-year timeline ignores the urgent need for action now. 10 years condemns thousands more young people to be abused by Rikers. How many people have to die and how many lives have to be ruined to make government act? We need action now."
involves the overall reduction of the jail population and creating replacement jails in the boroughs. City Hall spokesperson Eric Phillips said, "As Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo was silent on Rikers Island. As Governor, Andrew Cuomo leads a state prison system marred by abuse, neglect and escapes. He runs a state court system responsible for many inmates being on Rikers Island too long. His new-found concern is welcome, but unless the Governor is willing to reform his own embattled state prison system and court system, it's impossible to see his outburst as anything but political theatre."
Then Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi told the News, "[T]he governor has closed 24 prisons and passed landmark criminal justice reform. The city has kicked the can down the road on Rikers... The first thing every 6th grader learns in civics class is that the courts are a separate branch of government. It's scary the city doesn't grasp that."
Prison reform advocate Glenn Martin told the Wall Street Journal it'd be better if they stopped arguing, "They both have the power to move this forward and should be doing it in collaboration."
The governor and mayor are also fighting over MTA funding.
Tagged
governor cuomo
mayor de blasio
Rikers Island
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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