Comptroller Lander Calls for Federal Receiver at Rikers Island, Citing Rising Violence and Deaths

 

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander called on the federal judge overseeing the consent decree over operations at the Rikers Island jail facilities to institute a federal receiver empowered to make the operational and management reforms necessary to address rising violence, absenteeism, missed medical appointments and rising deaths at Rikers Island. Lander is the first citywide elected official to support receivership.

Speaking at a virtual forum Thursday titled How to End the Crises on Rikers Island, Comptroller Lander highlighted ongoing staff absenteeism, high rates of violence, and 32 deaths since January 2021.

“Admittedly with some trepidation, I have come to the conclusion that to address the short-term crisis – which is rooted largely in deeply entrenched mismanagement of staff and union leadership recalcitrance – a receiver should be appointed,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. “A receiver will not be able to magically fix what has been broken at Rikers for decades. But a receiver would be empowered to make decisions that the City has failed to adequately contend with for many years, whether by lack of will or through inability due to legal, regulatory or other barriers. To change the systems for assigning staff to posts, to end the abuse of sick leave, to change some of the qualification for hiring, to procure repairs and services and goods more promptly.”

“After so many years, and through the pandemic, the dysfunction has grown into an intractable emergency. There is little reason to believe that the current system or management can reform itself, and a receiver outside of many of those barriers holds the most chance of enacting the necessary changes for the basic safety of people incarcerated and staff,” Lander continued.

The Comptroller emphasized the importance, irrespective of the court’s ultimate decision, to expedite the closure of Rikers Island. “Receivership should not be confused as a “fix” for what is broken at Rikers. While we must address the immediate and inescapably real safety threats both to individuals in custody and to staff, we must not lose focus on the hard but necessary work to close Rikers Island,” he continued.  

The Comptroller’s full remarks, as prepared for delivery, are available here.

The Department of Correction is on the Comptroller’s Watch List and has been closely monitored by the Comptroller’s Office since 2014. In August 2022, Comptroller Brad Lander published an oversight and accountability dashboard to provide detailed, timely metrics for the press and public to assess progress on addressing ongoing management issues at DOC, including staff absenteeism, rates of violence, and the rising incarcerated population that perpetuates the chaos of the City’s jail system. That dashboard is available here and is updated regularly.