Rikers Island

Barbed-wire fences surrounded a jail complex on Rivers Island.

Mental Health

Scores of People Deemed Unfit to Stand Trial Are Stuck on Rikers Island

Feb. 3, 2025, 5:05 a.m.Feb. 3, 2025, 2:26 p.m.

State psych wards for seriously mentally ill people are so full that growing numbers are held in city jails instead.

Department of Correction general counsel James Conroy speaks at a City Hall hearing about commissary prices.

Impact

Rikers’ Controversial Commissary Deal Will Be Opened to All Bidders Following Reports of High Prices, Poor Service

Jan. 30, 2025, 4:44 p.m.March 17, 2025, 2:48 p.m.

The move comes after THE CITY revealed that the company hand-picked to run food services overcharged detainees.

The Manhattan skyline loomed over a jail complex on Rikers Island.

Courts

Rikers Island Takeover Plan Due Friday But Two Sides Are at Odds Over ‘Receiver’ Details

Jan. 23, 2025, 11:57 a.m.Jan. 23, 2025, 11:57 a.m.

City officials and public defenders have not been able to reach an agreement nearly four months after a federal judge ordered them to figure out receivership of the jails system.

A feral kitty catches some sun next to the Rikers Island Cat Rescue trailer.

animals

Meet the Cats Who Roam Rikers Island

Jan. 10, 2025, 5:00 a.m.Jan. 10, 2025, 9:10 a.m.

And the retired Corrections officer who cares for them.

Civil-rights lawyer Norman Siegel holds a booklet with social justice reform recommendations he presented to Mayor Eric Adams.

Jails

Who Could Take Over Rikers Island? Several Noteworthy Candidates Raise Their Hands.

Dec. 3, 2024, 5:00 a.m.Dec. 2, 2024, 7:16 p.m.

As NYC’s troubled jail system moves towards receivership, three prominent contenders say they’d be willing to take on the herculean task.

An aerial look at the sprawling jail complex on Rikers Island.

Jails

Federal Judge Pushes for Receiver Takeover of Rikers Island

Nov. 27, 2024, 11:10 a.m.Nov. 27, 2024, 1:52 p.m.

All the parties in the decade-old 'Nunez case' must now decide on the parameters and qualifications of a third-party overseer.

Workers continued construction on a new jail complex next to Manhattan criminal court.

Jails

Rikers Island Shutdown Plan Progresses With Construction Firms for New Manhattan Jail

Nov. 19, 2024, 5:00 a.m.Nov. 21, 2024, 10:50 a.m.

The selection of Tutor Perini and O & G Industries to design and build the White Street lockup represents a final piece in the borough-jails puzzle.

Department of Correction

A Court Case Over Basic Sanitary Conditions on Rikers Island Is Still Dragging On 50 Years Later

Oct. 29, 2024, 5:00 a.m.Oct. 28, 2024, 8:30 p.m.

The longest open case in Manhattan’s federal docket is nowhere near being resolved, as six mayors have failed to meet the basic benchmarks negotiated in the legal agreement.

Environment

City Council Makes Push for Rikers Island Green Projects, as Mayor Adams Stalls on Plans

Sept. 11, 2024, 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12, 2024, 10:40 a.m.

The Council-approved directive to turn the notorious lock-up into a renewable-energy hub has mostly been stuck in the mud.

Lloyd Haynes poses for a portrait in front of the Barclays Center.

Courts

Five Years After Leaving Rikers, Lloyd Haynes Is Still Fighting City Jails for Answers

Sept. 6, 2024, 5:00 a.m.Sept. 5, 2024, 7:08 p.m.

Freed from Rikers Island after THE CITY’s 2019 reporting on his medical plight, the Brooklyn man accuses the Department of Correction of dragging its feet on his negligence lawsuit.

Rikers Island

Scores of People Deemed Unfit to Stand Trial Are Stuck on Rikers Island

Rikers’ Controversial Commissary Deal Will Be Opened to All Bidders Following Reports of High Prices, Poor Service

Rikers Island Takeover Plan Due Friday But Two Sides Are at Odds Over ‘Receiver’ Details

Meet the Cats Who Roam Rikers Island

Who Could Take Over Rikers Island? Several Noteworthy Candidates Raise Their Hands.

Federal Judge Pushes for Receiver Takeover of Rikers Island

Rikers Island Shutdown Plan Progresses With Construction Firms for New Manhattan Jail

A Court Case Over Basic Sanitary Conditions on Rikers Island Is Still Dragging On 50 Years Later

City Council Makes Push for Rikers Island Green Projects, as Mayor Adams Stalls on Plans

Five Years After Leaving Rikers, Lloyd Haynes Is Still Fighting City Jails for Answers

ABOUT

TEAM

FUNDERS

ETHICS

DIVERSITY

DONATE

REPUBLISH

CAREERS

THE CITY IS HERE FOR YOU. BE HERE FOR US TOO.

We're matching up to $10K for our Spring Campaign!

Before you go...

for all things NYC.

local news today!