NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order on Thursday to create a task force dedicated to solving the ongoing humanitarian crisis at Rikers Island.
“The goal is clear: to implement the recommended reforms as swiftly and efficiently as possible to keep those in custody and correctional officers safe, and to build a functional, safe, and humane jail system,” wrote the Mayor’s office in a press release.
The task force, which will include representatives from City Hall, the Department of Correction and seven other city agencies, will meet weekly.
Adams left the door open for more agencies to be added as needed.
The task force will be chaired by Chief Counsel Brendan McGuire and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phillip Banks.
The executive order comes after a court-ordered federal monitor issued a scathing report on conditions in the notorious prison.
The report, which was released in mid-March, found abuse by guards and prisoners went unchecked, over 1,400 staff are listed as out sick on any given day and record keeping is in disarray.
In April, federal prosecutors threatened to ask a judge for a federal oversight body that could implement sweeping changes to the city’s prisons if the Department of Correction failed to do so of its own accord immediately.
An inmate on the island died by suicide on Sunday — the fourth prisoner to die this year.
Sixteen inmates died on Rikers Island or shortly after leaving the prison last year.
“Rikers Island has been mired in dysfunction and plagued by parallel crises for decades. We cannot — and will not — allow that to continue,” said Adams in a statement. “Since taking office, and working with the monitoring team, we have seen reductions in use of force and assaults on staff, increased searches for weapons and contraband, and fewer officers out on sick leave, but we must go further.”
“This interagency task force puts the full weight of city government behind fully and immediately addressing these challenges,” he continued. “To the people in our care and those officers and non-uniformed personnel working there: I have your back. The city will not rest until this dysfunction is rooted out, these reforms are implemented, and the people in our care and working on the island are safe.”
DOC Commissioner Louis Molina, who was appointed by Adams at the beginning of his mayorship, endorsed the task force that will be working to reform his agency.
“This vital support from City Hall finally gives this agency the help it needs to bring safety and security to our jail system and fulfill the requirements of the consent judgment in both spirit and letter,” said Molina. “I am looking forward to working with the dedicated and talented partners at our sister agencies. Together, we are going to transform our jail system into a model of safety and humanity.”
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