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Rikers detainees are isolated and idle after programming budget cuts, advocates tell NYC Council
By
Jessy Edwards
Published Oct 4, 2023
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By
Jessy Edwards
Published Oct 4, 2023
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Three months after the Adams administration nixed $17 million worth of programs aimed at helping Rikers Island detainees get jobs, find housing and stay off drugs, criminal justice advocates say many incarcerated people at the infamous jail complex are now left isolated and idle.
“We are now seeing the impact we feared,” Brooklyn Defender Services social worker Rebecca Kinsella told lawmakers at a City Council committee hearing last week. “People are isolated, and, after the cuts to funding, there is increasingly nothing for people to do."
The city Department of Correction says it successfully took over the programming from nonprofits over the past three months, even as classes on carpentry and plumbing, financial literacy, cognitive behavioral therapy, drug relapse prevention and anger management were canceled.
Incarcerated people still have access to a “majority” of the programs and services just as before, the department’s Chief of Staff Kat Thomson said at the hearing. And Francis Torres, deputy commissioner of programs and community partnerships, said the department "makes every effort to afford five hours of programming to each individual each day."
But defense lawyers and social workers questioned those assertions.
“Despite what we heard today, we know many of our clients are not receiving any programming,” testified Veronica Vela, an attorney at the New York City-based Legal Aid Society.
In May, community program providers were notified that their contracts had been canceled, effective June 30. The move came after Mayor Eric Adams ordered budget cuts and tasked city agencies with eliminating 4% of their spending.
Kinsella, of Brooklyn Defender Services, described a young client whose GED course was abruptly discontinued and other school-aged people who were told they couldn't sign up for classes. Two other clients reported that courses on driving, welding, digital literacy, workplace safety and CPR also disappeared over the summer, she added.
The department's “insourcing” of services has made correction officers less safe, according to incarceration reform advocate Zachary Katznelson. He said that on a recent visit to Rikers, all the officers he spoke with lamented the program cuts, saying a “huge number” of people had been left with nothing to do — increasing the risk of violence.
Benny Boscio, president of the union Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, said the union representing correction officers supported detainees' programming needs and believed they were a productive use of detainee time. "That being said, when it comes to funding, our main priority is that the city provides funding to hire more correction officers because no programs can run safely and securely without correction officers there to supervise them," he said.
At the hearing, criminal justice advocates called for the programming contracts to be reinstated and for better oversight of the department's internal programming in the meantime.
They said the programs helped detainees not only cope with life behind bars but also make smoother transitions back to their communities, reducing recidivism and making New York City safer.
Asked about the advocates' accounts, DOC spokesperson Frank Dwyer told Gothamist that volunteers from various groups — including LaGuardia Community College, the New York Public Library and a number of religious organizations — continued to run services at Rikers in July and August.
Organizations that teach young people about the dangers of gangs, help people access business attire for interviews and assist families without fathers were also still operating at the jail complex, Dwyer said.
While one-on-one counseling has been replaced with group counseling, DOC's Torres last week told councilmembers that detainees could still receive one-on-one engagement through religious visitors, recreational services and the fine and performing arts team.
She also said the department had expanded substance use and addiction programming as well as faith-based services.
This story has been updated to include a statement from the city correction officer's union.
Tagged
criminal justice
new york city
rikers
public safety
City Council
eric adams
Jessy Edwards
Jessy Edwards covers incarceration and public safety. Before working at Gothamist/WNYC, she covered daily and breaking news at NBC New York and Brooklyn news at BK Reader. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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