NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) — A federal judge ordered New York officials to hand control of the city’s troubled jail complex at Rikers Island to an outside manager.
The judge, Laura Taylor Swain, said in a ruling Tuesday she would appoint a “remediation manager” to take over handling of the city’s jail complex. Rikers has been under federal monitoring since 2015 as the result of a class-action lawsuit over problems at the complex, including rampant violence.
Since Mayor Eric Adams took office in early 2022, his administration has fought in court to retain control over Rikers, even as problems at the jail have persisted. In 2017, the city passed a law pledging to close the complex and replace it with several smaller jails in four boroughs by the year 2027. City officials have admitted that timeline is no longer feasible because of delays and cost overruns in the development of the new jails.
The case is MARK NUNEZ, et al. v. New York City Department of Correction and The City of New York, ,1:11-cv-05845
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