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…
Aug. 26, 2024 By Bill Parry A correction officer assigned to Rikers Island was indicted by a Queens grand jury for allegedly raping a woman he lured to his Springfield Gardens apartment with the promise of an acting job in March. Anthony Martin, 32, of 161st Street, was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on…
Aug. 20, 2024 By Bill Parry Disgraced Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein will remain in custody on Rikers Island pending the outcome of his upcoming retrial in Manhattan on rape and sexual assault charges, scheduled to begin in November. Weinstein was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Monday morning during an administrative function under…
Sep. 6, 2023 By Ethan Marshall Queens 3rd Congressional District candidate and former NYPD detective Michael Sapraicone discussed why he believes Rikers Island should remain open, despite plans for New York City to close the prison in the near future. He believes the conditions within the prison need to be improved, including how the incarcerated…
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Aug. 9, 2023 By Aidan Graham A group of conservative-leaning council members toured Rikers Island on Tuesday, where they touted supposed improvements to the notorious detention complex — standing in direct contrast to a recent report from a federal watchdog that sharply criticized the conditions at the facility. The electeds, who are part of…
Aug. 2, 2023 By Bill Parry An East Elmhurst man has been criminally charged in Queens Supreme Court with murder in the cold-blooded killing of his mother and brother last month. Roscoe Danielson, 40, of 104th Street, was arraigned Wednesday on an 18-count indictment charging him with two counts of murder in the second degree,…
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May. 31, 2023 By Ben Brachfeld A 31-year-old man named Joshua Valles died at Elmhurst Hospital Saturday after suffering a medical episode while in custody on Rikers Island, becoming the third detainee in city jails to die this year, amidst pushback by the Adams administration to a damning report by the federal monitor overseeing…
Apr. 11, 2023 By Ethan Stark-Miller A cadre of City Council members on Tuesday introduced several measures aimed at reducing the Rikers Island jail population from where it currently stands at just below 6,000 to 3,300 in order to close the troubled facility by the mandated 2027 deadline. The city must reduce the island’s…
Apr. 6, 2023 By Ethan Stark-Miller For the second year running, Assembly Member Latrice Walker (D-Brooklyn) is going on a hunger strike in a bid to stop Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed changes to the state’s bail laws from getting into the state budget, she announced after visiting Rikers Island on Thursday. The state spending…