A look at City Limits’ coverage is far from a comprehensive rendering of the Rikers saga. But it does provide a sense of how long this argument has been going on, of the twists and turns it has taken, and of the many passionate viewpoints New Yorkers have about it.
October 17, 2019 http://citylimits.flywheelstaging.com/2019/10/17/rikers-closure-comes-to-a-final-vote-how-we-got-here/‘If it takes smaller, replacement jails to close Rikers, then the mayor and the City Council must pay heed. We will then eventually need to close the new ones as well.’
October 15, 2019 http://citylimits.flywheelstaging.com/2019/10/15/opinion-close-rikers-to-address-the-violence-of-jail-discrimination-for-now/They are unlikely to stop the plan, but at least some of them will be where last-minute negotiations focus.
September 5, 2019 http://citylimits.flywheelstaging.com/2019/09/05/closing-rikers-the-10-major-concerns-that-emerged-at-the-public-hearing/‘The only population of people increasing on Rikers happens to be the one population fully under the governor’s control – people on parole.’
July 23, 2019 http://citylimits.flywheelstaging.com/2019/07/23/cuomo-parole-rikers-left-behind/‘I’m reminded the cells on Rikers are so hot — that the walls sweat. There was no air. I had to lay on the floor naked, to suck a little bit of air from a slit on the floor, just to breathe.’
July 2, 2019 http://citylimits.flywheelstaging.com/2019/07/02/opinion-the-unending-urgency-of-closing-rikers/‘With over 600 people held on technical parole violations at Rikers every day, it is time we recognize that the system is not working.’
May 28, 2019 http://citylimits.flywheelstaging.com/2019/05/28/parole-reform-closing-rikers-albany/‘An impartial and fair assessment of this process can lead to only one conclusion: Closing Rikers will lead to a more just New York.’
April 11, 2019 http://citylimits.flywheelstaging.com/2019/04/11/opinion-closing-rikers-and-building-borough-jails-would-create-a-more-humane-nyc/The number of outstanding questions reflects the size of the population involved, the magnitude of the construction projects the effort entails and the unique nature of building temporary housing for people who live there involuntarily.
March 25, 2019 http://citylimits.flywheelstaging.com/2019/03/25/review-begins-of-citys-plan-to-build-four-new-jails-en-route-to-closing-rikers/‘Rikers Island has been a human rights atrocity since the 1930s, and we are closer than ever to closing it.’
March 25, 2019 http://citylimits.flywheelstaging.com/2019/03/25/opinion-its-time-to-improve-and-embrace-the-plan-to-close-rikers-island/‘The ‘Build New Jails’ advocates have adopted a two-step Bait and Switch political strategy that is oddly familiar.’
March 19, 2019 http://citylimits.flywheelstaging.com/2019/03/19/opinion-close-rikers-eschews-real-reform-for-a-real-estate-drama/
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