A Manhattan federal judge has ordered a receiver to be appointed to oversee use-of-force and safety issues in the city’s jails, citing nearly nine years of failed promises by jail officials. The decision comes after Laura Taylor Swain, chief district judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, found that the Adams administration had fallen short of complying with court orders to improve conditions.
Swain’s ruling also found the Adams administration in civil contempt of 18 provisions designed to improve conditions for city detainees. The judge wants both sides to agree on how much power the receiver will have and who that person will be.
A receiver can grant extraordinary powers, including not being required to follow union contracts, which could impact job protections and work hours across the correction department. Legal experts say this is a historic decision and comes as a result of years of failed reform efforts.
The push for a receiver is supported by Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, Damian Williams, who filed the original “Nunez” case in 2011. The city has faced criticism over its handling of Rikers Island, including a spike in deaths since Adams took office nearly three years ago. Nineteen people died in 2022, nine more in 2023, and five in the first eight months of 2024.
The judge’s decision comes as Mayor Eric Adams questions the plan to close all jails on Rikers and replace them with four modern facilities in each borough except for Staten Island. Adams insists one of the new locations should be dedicated to those who need help that typical incarceration can’t provide.
Source: https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/11/27/federal-judge-orders-rikers-receiver