Will Rikers in NYC be run by federal authorities? A judge weighs the option

LOWER MANHATTAN (PIX11) -- For nine decades, the City of New York has operated the jail on Rikers Island. On Tuesday, the possibility of the federal government taking over was the center of a hearing before a judge, with no fewer than 14 attorneys making their cases for or against the change.

A variety of activists also demonstrated outside of the courthouse, calling for the federal takeover, called a receivership, as part of a larger process to shut down the historic jail facility, permanently.

The protesters, numbering about five dozen or so, were convened by an organization called the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice.

"Shut Rikers Down!" they chanted, in unison, and they called on the city to stick to the plan it made seven years ago to close Rikers permanently and replace it with smaller jails -- one in each borough -- by 2027.

The activists said that in the meantime, having federal authorities operate the facility would mean justice for the more than 6,000 people being held on Rikers Island now.

One protester, Gordon Lee, vocalized the types of alleged abuses that some inmates have said take place behind the Rikers Island bars. There are ongoing legal disputes involving some of them.

"Being a victim of violent inmates," Lee began, and then ticked off other forms of alleged abuse on Rikers Island. "Deprived of needed health care, deprived of your lawyer, health care provider, access to your family."

Other demonstrators had similar complaints about, and concerns for, the conditions Rikers inmates live.

"It's not safe," said Lakenya Smith, who described herself as a community activist, including for the community behind bars on Rikers. "Conditions are horrible," she continued, "people are not getting the correct treatment that they need. It's about getting the mayor to wake up."

For his part, Mayor Eric Adams, whose administration has for years fought a potential federal takeover, changed his tune somewhat when asked about the Rikers situation at his weekly press briefing.

"I'll respect the decision that the court makes," he said, while also saying that "the federal prison system is certainly not a model of what prisons should look like."

He said that currently, the jail is operating well. "We continue to move Rikers in the right direction," the mayor said.

The jail had 19 deaths behind bars in 2022. That number declined last year, to nine. So far this year, the jail has had three deaths.

At Tuesday's hearing, in front of Judge Laura Taylor Swain, attorneys representing both the city and the federal government, the latter of which has been monitoring -- but not operating -- Rikers for the last nine years, agreed that the current Rikers administration has improved conditions at the jail this year. They also agreed that the Department of Correction is in better compliance with federal monitoring requirements than it has been in some time.

Whether or not that could prevent a federal takeover is an open question. Judge Taylor Swain said from the bench that she will consider written arguments presented to her in the next few weeks, and will then hear in-person oral arguments on Sept. 25.

She also said that she wants to determine if the city is in contempt in some way, before deciding if federal receivership should happen. It was apparent in the hearing that a final decision is months away.