At its June 18, 2009 special public meeting, the Board unanimously rejected the Department of Correction’s requests for variances from §1-06 (“Recreation”) and §1-09 (“Visiting”) of the Minimum Standards for NYC Correctional Facilities.  The Department had sought authorization to reduce the prisoner outdoor recreation schedule from seven days per week to five and to reduce the visiting schedule from five days per week to four. The Board had heard comments on these requests at its June 5th public hearing where eleven speakers presented testimony, and DOC Commissioner Martin Horn submitted written comments. The Board also reviewed information provided by the Department in response to many questions about the variances raised by the Board, and several Board Members inspected Rikers Island facilities to review visit processing and recreation.

The next meeting of the Board of Correction is scheduled for Monday, March 8, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. at the Board of Correction offices at 51 Chambers Street in Room 929.

On April 22, 2009 Dr. Cohen was appointed by the City Council to fill the vacant seat on the Board of Correction.  A nationally-recognized expert on correctional health care, Dr. Cohen’s appointment is until October 12, 2011.

In November, 2007, following a multi-year review and lengthy public process, the Board voted to adopt a series of amendments to the original Minimum Standards. This process was the first comprehensive review of all of the original provisions since the Minimum Standards took effect in 1978.

The amendments became effective on June 16, 2008.

Several amendments made permanent longstanding variances authorizing DOC to quarantine prisoners confined for medical reasons in contagious disease units. Other amendments authorize the Department: to record and monitor prisoner telephone calls; to read prisoner correspondence when there exists a reasonable belief that the correspondence threatens the safety or security of the facility, another person, or the public; to deny a prisoner access to outdoor recreation for up to five days for misconduct on the way to, from, or at recreation; and to require all prisoners to wear uniforms. However, detainees will not be required to wear uniforms until the Department first establishes and operates adequate laundry and clothing storage facilities.

An amendment to the Minimum Standards for New York City Correctional Facilities allows surveillance and recording of inmate telephone calls without need for a warrant. Inmate calls made to the Board of Correction, Inspector General and other monitoring bodies, as well as to treating physicians and clinicians, attorneys and clergy are not to be listened to or monitored. If you are an inmate's attorney, physician/clinician or clergyperson, you can be placed on the Department of Correction’s Do Not Record list. To prevent recording or monitoring of inmate calls from inmates, refer to the Department of Correction web site under “How Do I…?”