Mayor Adams' Statement on Federal Court's Endorsement of City's Rikers Action Plan

June 14, 2022

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today released the following statement after the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York endorsed the city’s Rikers Action Plan, stating the plan “represents a way to move forward with concrete measures now to address the ongoing crisis at Rikers Island:” 

“I am grateful that the court today recognized our efforts to continue to address the dysfunction on Rikers Island and endorsed our Action Plan to make our jails safe for all who live and work there. This vote of confidence speaks to the immense work Commissioner Molina and his team have undertaken over the past five months.  

“There are no quick or easy solutions to reforming Rikers, but in just a few short months, we have seen reductions in slashings and stabbings, reductions in use of force and assaults on staff, increased searches for weapons and contraband, and fewer officers out on sick leave.  It is a good start, but we must go much further.  

“As the plan makes clear and as the court has agreed, we have a strategy to aggressively untangle the dysfunction that has plagued the jails and set them on a path of real, enduring reform. To the people in our care and to those officers and non-uniformed personnel working there: Know that I have your back and that the whole of city government has your back. We will not rest until the dysfunction on Rikers is rooted out, these reforms are implemented, and the people in our care and working on the island are safe around the clock.”  

New York City Corporation Counsel Sylvia Hinds-Radix also released the following statement:

“We are pleased that the court has endorsed the city’s Action Plan to address the longstanding problems at Rikers. The city has already begun and is committed to continuing the hard work necessary for ongoing reform to create a jail system that is both more humane and safer for all.” 

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