Jun. 21, 2025 By Robert Pozarycki Two Rikers Island inmates died roughly an hour apart on Friday afternoon, prompting a Correction Department investigation and outrage from criminal justice advocates seeking to have the facility shut down. The Department of Correction reported that Benjamin Kelly, 37, was found in medical distress at the Eric M.…
Apr. 25, 2025 By Ethan Stark-Miller A state judge on Friday extended an order barring Mayor Eric Adams’ administration from allowing federal immigration authorities to re-establish offices on Rikers Island, handing a win to the City Council that filed a lawsuit April 15 seeking to block the move. Judge Mary Rosado on April 25…
Apr. 9, 2025 By Ethan Stark-Miller A top Adams administration official signed an executive order Tuesday night allowing federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to operate within the Rikers Island jail complex for the first time in over a decade. The move drew swift backlash from elected officials and advocates charging it is…
Feb. 19, 2025 By Bill Parry Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Wednesday the release of surveillance video of the cold case murder of an off-duty Rikers Island correction officer in Springfield Gardens more than four years ago. During the early morning hours of Aug. 15, 2020, 28-year-old NYC Correction Officer John Jeff was…
Feb. 19, 2025 By Robert Pozarycki Another individual incarcerated on Rikers Island has died, the Correction Department (DOC) announced early Wednesday morning. The unidentified inmate was found at an unspecified facility on the island during the early hours of Feb. 19, according to a terse statement from the DOC. The agency indicated the person…
Feb. 17, 2025 By Colum Motherway Council Member Robert Holden has praised Mayor Eric Adams for reopening the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office at the Rikers Island jail complex. Holden, who represents the District 30 neighborhoods of Ridgewood, Maspeth, Middle Village, Glendale, Elmhurst, and Rego Park, has consistently pushed for this action to be taken. “This is a…
Feb. 14, 2025 By Shane O’Brien Following the dismissal of federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, elected officials across Queens have called for his removal from office. The Department of Justice’s decision to drop the case has raised concerns among prominent Democrats, who allege that President Donald Trump now holds…
Feb. 14, 2025 By Bill Parry A Venezuelan man who was living in the migrant shelter on Randall’s Island is now on Rikers Island after he was arrested last month and criminally charged with attempted murder for shooting an Astoria business owner during an armed robbery with his accomplice from Long Island in November. Elier… Read more »
Dec. 6, 2024 By Bill Parry One day after Mayor Eric Adams expressed his willingness to collaborate with the incoming Trump administration on addressing the migrant crisis and signaled a readiness to meet with former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) head Tom Homan, Council Member Robert Holden called on the mayor to reopen…
Nov. 27, 2024 By Ethan Stark-Miller A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday said she is “inclined” to appoint a federal receiver to oversee the use of force and safety on Rikers Island — moving the jail complex the closest it has ever been to federal control. US District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain’s statement…