Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Raise The Age Moves All Young Teenagers Off Rikers Island
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 1, 2018
Modified Oct 1, 2018
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
AP/Shutterstock
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 1, 2018
Modified Oct 1, 2018
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
As of Monday, all 16- and 17-year-olds have been moved out of facilities on Rikers Island as part of the state's Raise the Age legislation, which makes 18 the age of adult criminal responsibility.
While 16-year-olds will be treated as juveniles in Family Court, 17-year-olds will continue to be charged as adults until October 1, 2019. Before the law was passed in 2017, only New York and North Carolina treated young teens like adults in the eyes of the law.
Children jailed with adults are more likely to be beaten, raped, or commit suicide, and they're also more likely to be arrested again than those who go through the juvenile jail system.
All of the nearly 100 teenagers under the age of 18 on Rikers were transferred to the Horizon Juvenile Detention Center in the South Bronx, according to the Legal Aid Society and a release from the City. In the future, 16- and 17-year-olds charged with serious crimes will be sent to Horizon, while those charged with less series crimes will be sent to Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brownsville, Brooklyn.
Both facilities are operated by the City's Administration for Children's Services, (ACS), but Horizon will continue to be staffed and run jointly with the City's Department of Correction; unions for the Correction Officers had sued to prevent this from happening, but last month a judge ruled that the 300 Correction Officers and 200 ACS employees had to show up to work.
“While Raise the Age is critical reform for New York’s criminal justice system, I have serious concerns that the city’s use of DOC staff in juvenile correction facilities will fundamentally undermine [the] goals and spirit of this landmark legislation," Queens Councilmember Rory Lancman said in a statement. "Officers trained in adult jails should not be supervising kids.” (Lancman is running to unseat Queens DA Richard Brown in 2019.)
Teens under 18 charged with misdemeanors and non-violent felonies (barring "extraordinary circumstances") will be referred to family court as juveniles; those charged with violent felonies will also be referred to family court, unless their case involves a weapon, serious injuries, or a sex offense, in which case they will be tried in a "youth part" of regular criminal court.
Click to expand (Chart via Raise the Age NY)
Some criminal justice advocates argue that these exemptions amount to "loopholes," and that due to a lack of facilities outside of New York City, it's unclear where these young teenagers will be tried or held.
"If incarcerated, unlike in any other state, these youth will go to facilities run jointly by adult and juvenile corrections personnel—facilities that do not currently exist and are particularly difficult for small counties to create," Vincent Schiraldi, the co-director of the Columbia University Justice Lab and the former New York City Probation commissioner, writes in the Daily News. "This approach counteracts the intended goal of raising the age of criminal responsibility in the first place—namely, to treat youth like youth."
Tagged
Rikers Island
juvenile justice reform
raise the age
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .