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Federal judge blocks request for Rikers federal takeover
By
Matt Katz
Published Nov 17, 2022
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Seth Wenig/AP/Shutterstock
By
Matt Katz
Published Nov 17, 2022
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New York City jails are facing historically high rates of death, stabbings, and officer use of force, but a federal judge ruled Thursday control of Rikers Island will stay in city hands for the foreseeable future.
The question before U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain was whether attorneys representing detainees at Rikers Island jails could file motions to request a federal receiver to take over the jail system. The appointment of a federal receiver — who could override city regulations and contracts — would have represented an extraordinary rebuke to the city, which staunchly opposed it.
Swain also denied a related request that would have held the Department of Correction in contempt for failing to abide by provisions of a 2015 consent decree, which demanded steps be taken to prevent violence and decrease officers’ use of force.
As part of that decree, a federal monitor — who does not have powers nearly as robust as those of a receiver — was appointed to preside over the jails. But as Gothamist reported before Thursday’s court hearing, by most measures the facilities have only gotten more dangerous for detainees and staff since that time.
The record shows the city does not have control over its jails.
Mary Lynne Werlwas, Legal Aid Society attorney
In denying attorneys the opportunity to seek a federal monitor, Swain noted “important indications of improvement.” She said she was swayed by arguments from city attorneys and Correction Commissioner Louis Molina that 28 new civilian leaders at the department are correcting problems decades in the making.
In his remarks before the judge, Molina, who was appointed less than a year ago, repeatedly spoke of errors by correction officials in the past. He said he was rebuilding middle management and working with a task force of various city agencies to tackle problems.
Kimberly M. Joyce, senior counsel for the city, told Swain: “Appointment of a receiver will set things back rather than move things forward.”
The city’s argument got a boost from the federal government, which was also a party to the original consent decree. Jeffrey Powell of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan said he saw “some glimmers of hope” with the current correction leaders and he would not seek a receiver at this time.
But attorney Mary Lynne Werlwas of the Legal Aid Society, which represented detainees in a class-action suit that led to the 2015 consent decree, told the judge that violence in the jails has increased at an “astonishing rate.” Meanwhile, the city has failed to fix broken cell doors or properly discipline officers who violate rules on use of force, she said.
“The record shows the city does not have control over its jails,” Werlwas said. She called it “one of the most profound failures of governance in this city’s recent history.”
Swain said she could consider motions for a receiver next year, if conditions continue to decline.
Eighteen people have died in city custody or shortly after being released this year, which is the highest death rate in city jails in more than a decade.
The family of one of the men who recently died at Rikers, Erick Tavira, sat in the front row of the Manhattan courtroom. Swain wished them well at the end of the hearing. “It is my intention that things will be better for other families,” she said.
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Rikers Island
Matt Katz
Matt Katz is a former WNYC & Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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