Federal Judge Ends NYC Control Of Rikers Island
Written by djfrosty on May 15, 2025
A federal judge has taken control of the Rikers Island correctional facility out of New York City’s hands, ordering that an outside “remediation manager” take over the duties of overseeing the jail complex plagued with instances of violence and inmate deaths. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain made the ruling in a 77-page decision, calling for a “support remediation of the ongoing violations of the constitutional rights of people in custody in the New York City jails.”
“While the necessary changes will take some time, the Court expects to see continual progress toward these goals so that control of use of force and related policies and practices can be returned to the City and the DOC as quickly as possible,” Judge Swain wrote. The ruling dictates that a list of candidates for remediation managers be compiled by parties in the case of Nunez v. City of New York by August 29. The manager will be given “broad powers,” which include hiring or firing staff and making changes to the policies of the Correction Department.
“We commend the court for taking this bold and necessary step. The people we serve deserve real accountability, and today’s decision brings us one step closer to justice,” attorneys Mary Lynne Werlwas and Debra Greenberger said in a statement. The lawyers are representing the plaintiff in a class action suit against the city over the condition of Rikers, which was first filed in 2012. “The remediation manager must do everything possible to hasten the day we shift to more humane, more efficient borough-based jails and secure hospital beds,” Independent Rikers Commission executive director Zachary Katznelson said in a statement. “That’s how we can truly deliver safety and dignity for correctional staff, incarcerated people and crime victims.”
Riker’s island has been under oversight by a monitor appointed by the City Council since 2015 due to alleged abuses in the complex. In 2019, the Council voted to close Rikers and replace it with smaller jails based in the city’s five boroughs by 2027. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has expressed his doubts about meeting that timeline, however, and has proposed building additional housing on the earmarked sites instead. “The problems on Rikers were decades in the making. If a federal judge made a determination that we did something they didn’t like, then we are going to follow the rules,” he said to the press after the ruling.