The Interfaith Center of New York is a proud member of the Campaign to Close Rikers, a coalition of civic leaders that seeks to ensure the closure of Rikers Island by 2027, as legally mandated by a resolution passed in 2019. With the closure of the notorious jail, the law demands that a network of smaller borough-based jails be built, and that Rikers Island becomes a space for renewable energy. In short, the group works to decarcerate, defend the rights of incarcerated individuals, and divest and redistribute resources back into the community.
On August 31, 2023, we held a brilliant rally to mark exactly four years until Rikers is legally mandated to close. Throughout the year, Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly questioned the plan to Close Rikers, passively allowing setbacks and delays to accumulate. For instance, the jail population of NYC has increased from 5,768 to 6,148; the number of incarcerated individuals should sit around 3500 according to the decarceration plan outlined by the Lipmann Commission. Our rally brought together advocacy groups, elected officials, civic and faith leaders together to reiterate our promise to see a safer and more just NYC.
With commendable pressure and advocacy led by the Campaign to Close Rikers and its various partners, we have achieved numerous milestones. For example, the campaign secured the allocation of $36.8M for reducing supervised release caseloads and intensive case management pilot programs in Manhattan and Queens. It also saw the restoration of $400K in cuts to the Board of Correction oversight budget and no headcount increase for the Department of Correction.
To achieve these milestones, the coalition has been passionately pursuing key partners. We have had positive meetings with District Attorneys and staff in Manhattan and Brooklyn, City Council allies, and Chief Judges. Activists in our community regularly provide testimonies at hearings. Most recently, our program assistant, Scott Blumenthal, penned a testimony reemphasizing the moral argument for closing Rikers and the need for occupational therapeutic housing units for inmates living with mental health illnesses. Overall, there is growing support among our representatives to mitigate further delays and ensure Rikers closes by 2027.
Finally, ICNY has worked with faith leaders to bring new communities in our campaign. Recently, we worked with Jewish Community Relations Council and the Freedom Agenda to create a resource guide integrating Rikers Island and International Human Rights Day. The guide offers a connection between human rights and incarceration across several faith traditions and encourages leaders to incorporate these messages into a community service. If you have suggestions or would like to grow this document to include more faith traditions, please email Shanaz (shanaz@interfaithcenter.org).
Sign and share the Campaign to Close Rikers
Sign up for the Freedom Agenda mailing list to receive regular updates on the Campaign to Close Rikers.
