News

Testimony before the

New York City Council

Committees on Criminal Justice and Finance

Chair Sandy Nurse

Chair Justin Brannan

Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, Commissioner

NYC Department of Correction

May 17, 2024

Good morning, Chair Nurse and members of the Committee on Criminal Justice. I am Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction (“Department” or “DOC”). My colleagues and I are here to discuss the Department’s Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2025 and what lies ahead for the agency in the coming fiscal year.

I have spoken often in the past five months about the importance of leading with empathy and respect, so that both staff and people in custody feel seen and supported. My commitment to these principles has not waivered, and our dedicated workforce remains actively engaged in the difficult work of change. All uniformed and non-uniformed leadership continue to tour the jails on a regular basis, myself included. Focus groups with both staff and people in custody have provided us the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue and feedback to address concerns and inefficiencies. We have begun the important process of auditing our compliance with minimum standards, to ensure people in our care have what they are entitled to and what they deserve. I am confident that the insight and recommendations born of this audit process will inform measurable change and contribute to safer and more humane jails.

Though admissions continue to increase, important violence indicators continue to trend in the right direction. Our court production rate remains at 98 percent, and we continue to work with stakeholders throughout the criminal justice system to address case processing, to ensure people can move through the justice process expediently and do not linger in our jails. We remain focused on recruiting and promoting staff to do this important work. Two new classes of Captains began training since we appeared at our Fiscal Year 2025 Preliminary Budget Hearing, and 50 Captains are expected to graduate on the same day as the 78 recruits in our current new recruit Correction Officer class. We are proud to welcome our new members of service to the Boldest family, and to support their growth in the Department, and we are committed to mentoring and guiding those ascending in ranks. Last week was National Correction Officers and Employee Week, during which we honored uniformed and non-uniformed staff and celebrated our collective work and achievements. Together, with humility and compassion, the men and women of DOC are showing up every day to serve the people in our care and to build safer and more humane jails. They deserve to be recognized and celebrated.

Finally, before turning to the budget, I would like to highlight an exciting project that we recently completed at the Rose M. Singer Center (“RMSC”). Just last week, we opened a family friendly, interactive visitation space in RMSC, designed in collaboration with the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (“CMOM”). CMOM has been a long-time partner in providing innovative, family friendly visitation opportunities for individuals in custody and their loved ones. We are very grateful for their ongoing support in this work. The interactive installations in the visit area were designed by CMOM and based on exhibits currently at the museum. They are research-based and support preschool learning while providing fun and engaging bonding activities for mothers and their children. Incarceration can leave lasting scars on families, and my team and I are committed to lessening the impacts of incarceration wherever we can. Visitation areas like the ones provided by CMOM support parents and children in maintaining a pivotal bond and provide elements of normalcy during a challenging time. This partnership is a shining example of what we can achieve when we work together for the benefit of those in our care.

The Department’s Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget

Now I will turn to the fiscal year 2025 Executive Budget. The Department’s FY25 budget is $1.05 billion, which is a $116.5 million dollar decrease from the FY24 Adopted Budget. The vast majority of our budget – 84 percent – is allocated for Personal Services (“PS”), and 16 percent for Other than Personal Services. This budget decrease was achieved through various PS PEGs the Department realized in the November and Preliminary budgets. Several items of note from this Executive Budget:

An addition of $358 thousand in FY25 to purchase specialized transport vehicles for the Bellevue Therapeutic Outpost Unit;
An increase of $5.0 million in FY24 for the Department’s Nutritional Services Division food budget;
An additional $40.0 million in FY24 to cover anticipated PS expenses;

Capital Funding

The FY25 Executive Capital Budget and Commitment Plan totals $13.7 billion, which covers Fiscal Years 2024 through 2033. This reflects a $2.8 billion increase from the Preliminary Plan. As of the FY25 Executive Budget, the majority of capital funding is tied to the borough-based jails program which totals $12.7 billion over the ten-year plan and is allocated as follows:

Brooklyn Facility - $2.8 billion
Manhattan Facility - $2.0 billion
Bronx Facility - $3.3 billion
Queens Facility - $4.4 billion

Headcount

We continue to work diligently to attract and retain non-uniformed and uniformed staff. The Department’s authorized headcount remains effectively unchanged from the Adopted Budget totaling 8,787; 7,060 uniformed positions and 1,727 civilian positions. Our actual staffing levels continue to remain well below our authorized headcount and the Department intends to remain aggressive with advertising and marketing strategies to promote recruitment.

Conclusion

I will continue to champion our staff, to uplift and serve those in our care, and drive the change that is so deeply needed. The Executive Budget gives us the resources to continue to work towards our shared priorities and reforms, and I look forward to the year ahead. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My team and I are available to answer your questions.