City Invests $391 Million in Communities and Comprehensive Reforms to the Criminal Justice System
The City Council Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings and Dispositions and the
The vote occurs as Mayor de Blasio,
This massive decarceration effort establishes
"When we pledged to close
"For far too long, this city's answer to every societal problem was to throw people in jail. Because of that, we lost generations to mass incarceration, mostly young men of color. These investments are at the heart of our plan to close Rikers. We are investing
Reducing Incarceration through Prevention, Diversion, and Reentry
In its aim to provide safe and smart diversion from jail, the plan adds over
Highlights of those investments and policy changes include:
*
*
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* Building on the existing investment in in-custody programming and reentry services, the City is restructuring such services to ensure access to comprehensive social services and access to paid transitional employment post-release for everyone leaving City jails.
* Services to support incarcerated individuals facing medical and mental health issues, including: doubling the number of therapeutic treatment units in the jails, known as the
* Expanded programming for social and emotional learning to help school communities be more proactive in changing school culture and climate, with the goal to foster and maintain a supportive school environment while reducing conflict.
* Requiring every detention facility to have dedicated administrative space for community based providers as well as dedicated space for services and programming in every housing unit. Also requiring new trainings for correction officers, program staff, and healthcare staff to participate in together.
* Expanded pre-arraignment diversion that will allow more people to avoid prosecution and have their arrests sealed
* Increased funding to community-based restorative justice programming, with a particular focus on serious felony level cases that would otherwise result in detention and incarceration. This model will invest in community-based infrastructure in conjunction with the District Attorneys and courts.
* Commitment to build a
Address the Root Causes of
The City will increase the number of supportive and transitional housing units dedicated to serving people who are homeless, have health needs, and histories of justice involvement to 1,000
* In addition to the investment in expanding the
* In addition to baselining the City's current
* Commitments, adopted from the
* Other highlights include 6 Mobile Crisis Teams, which ensure a more rapid response by mental health professionals and peers to those in mental health distress, and 4 new Intensive Mobile Treatment teams, which provides proactive and sustained engagement with those individuals with behavioral health needs. This commitment will also include 4 new co-response teams in high need precincts, in which police officers and mental health clinicians work together to respond to 911 calls involving those in mental health distress.
Community Based Violence Reduction
To increase investment in neighborhood based and community led programs that improve public safety and reduce violence, the City will invest additional
* 25th Precinct in
* 40th Precinct in the Mott Haven section of the
* 113th Precinct in
* 47th Precinct in the
* 60th Precinct in
* 67th Precinct in
New neighborhood investments, announced today, will support communities surrounding the borough-based jails through new affordable housing, youth programming, community and cultural centers.
These local investments include:
* New programming and recreation spaces for young people that give them safe and productive environments. This includes two new community centers in the
* New affordable housing in the
* Capital improvements at
* New performing arts space and initial city support for acquisition of a permanent home for the
* Support for
* Upgrades to
* Streetscape improvements around the
* Upgrades to
Design Changes That Better Integrate New Facilities Into Their Surrounding Communities
Negotiations between the
This effort was born from a commission created by the
In 2018, the de Blasio administration initiated the Uniformed Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) process to site the new borough-based jails. Through months of engagement, both locally in communities with proposed jail sites, and also more broadly with criminal justice stakeholders, the plan to site borough-based jails evolved to maximize investments in addressing the underlying causes of incarceration, transform our justice system, and respond to local community-based concerns about building scale.
In addition, to ensure that
Additional details and a full list of commitments are included in a Points of Agreement letter signed by the Mayor and received by the Council on
I am very proud of the community investments that I have secured from the administrative," said Council Member
"The citywide community justice investments committed to by the de Blasio administration, in consultation with Speaker Johnson and the Council, is an essential component to closing Rikers. We answered the call from advocates across the city to make sure we are not just tearing down old jails to replace them with new jails-we are investing in neighborhoods to transform how we approach community justice for generations to come," said Council Member
"Above all, the effort to close Rikers is about enacting bold policy changes and building investments in marginalized communities to address the root causes of mass incarceration. These citywide investments signal an important step to reforming our broken criminal justice system while deepening support for the communities who need them the most - and that includes Lower Manhattan, which has housed the
"Since the initial announcement of the borough-based jail plan in early 2018, I have stressed the importance of holistic community investments for the
"I applaud Mayor de Blasio, Speaker Johnson, and community advocates in all five boroughs for these transformative investments which bring our moral imperative to close Rikers within reach. My Office is proud to have helped lay the groundwork to close Rikers by funding the City's first-ever supervised release program, creating the City's first Project Reset diversion programs, and declining to prosecute thousands of low-level offenses each year. We will continue to support the
"I thank Mayor de Blasio, Speaker Johnson and the
"While I have had my reservations regarding the process, I have never wavered on the moral imperative of closing
"Above all else, reducing the city jail population is most important to me," said Majority Leader
"Closing Rikers Island is one of the most important votes this Council has ever taken, but these critical investments in restoring and healing our communities are the most effective part of the plan that will drastically reduce our incarcerated population by providing opportunities for at-risk New Yorkers," said Council Member
"Throughout this process I have stressed the importance of investing in communities most impacted by the criminal justice system. These targeted, citywide investments further indicate that closing
"The announcement regarding community investments tied to the new borough-based facilities illustrates our commitment to a new vision for criminal justice and reform in
"Community programs are critically important to reducing the city's jail population. I am pleased that the City is expanding community investments and prioritizing the vital work that social services providers do to make the closure of
"Closing Rikers now is essential.
"The decision to shutter
"Putting an end to
"Today, we not only celebrate the death nail in the carceral coffin that is
"
"We applaud the
New Yorkers are creating history and leading this country in what could be a monumental reversal of its shameful legacy as the #1 incarcerator in the world. The City's plan, catalyzed by decades of community advocacy, prioritizes people and their needs over punishment and retribution. Smaller, more humane jails located in close proximity to the courts are significant building blocks in the effort to overhaul the criminal injustice system. There is much work still to be done to radically change the culture of the NYC jail system and it is incumbent upon all New Yorkers to work together and make that happen. The City's plan moves us forward to create that change," said Soffiyah Elijah, Executive Director,
"The #BEYONDrosies 2020 campaign believes that closing Rikers isn't enough without tackling the root causes of incarceration with deep community investments. We believe when women thrive, families and communities thrive. Now is the time to invest in the voices, experiences and needs of women directly impacted by mass incarceration. This is only the beginning - in partnership with our allies, we will continue advocating for everyone to evaluate budget priorities and invest in proven, community-based solutions to public health and safety concerns," said
"We applaud the City's decision to invest in critically needed community-based resources as we work to close
"As a person who lives in
"Today's historic vote by the
"Putting an end to
"Directly impacted advocates, activists and organizers across the field have been on the frontlines working tirelessly with legislators to not only decarcerate our city, but build communities as well. We know that community investments are essential to securing community health and safety. This is why directly impacted people, like myself, and our allies have long demanded the City make community investments as part of the plan to close Rikers. We won't leave anyone behind on Rikers, and we will make sure that within that process there is a commitment to investing in and supporting our communities. Today's announcement is a critical step in the fight to close Rikers and build communities, and we applaud the
"
This is a momentous day for
work of people directly impacted by the inhuman culture in
has brought us to where we are today - The vote to close Rikers Island! With eagerness and great hope, we look to a future of working with diverse leaders with an eye towards empowering local communities, so that all can be safe and prosperous. 'This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.' Pslam 118:24," said Rev.
"This is truly a historical moment for
These investments--and a hard deadline for the closure of
"I commend the
"This accomplishment has been a long time in the making.
Gen.
"Today's announcement is the realization of a vision that many criminal justice reformers have been pursuing for a generation. The Mayor and the
"
"
The closing of Rikers is more than monumental. It is a clear agreement that the atrocities and pain that have happened on
"Congratulations to the
"
"
"Many in opposition of closing
It is imperative that
This can only be done by closing
"With these investments in community-based services, the impressive reduction in the pretrial detention population and the impending vote to close
"Investing in communities and changing the trajectory of outcomes of individuals and families who are justice involved is paramount to the changes we need to see in NYC. The continued expansion of programs, housing and mental health services are the right direction for the City in its decarceration and community reinvestment efforts," said Dr.
"One of the core components in NYC's now two decades long decline in crime has been the City's willingness to invest in prevention services. The mayor and
"I am so glad that Mayor de Blasio and the
"Five years ago, if you had said that
We applaud the
"This is a truly great step towards meaningful criminal justice reform in
"With the closing of
"On behalf of the residents of Alfred E. Smith Houses, we support the closing of
"I think closing Rikers is a good thing, and the healing should begin. It's that simple. Smaller facilities must get people out of the system through education and rehabilitation," said
"Rikers should be closed. The alternative to
"Keeping Rikers open would be a disaster for
For generations, mass incarceration has torn families and communities apart, with the heaviest burden falling upon communities of color, LGBTQI people and people experiencing poverty. We commend Mayor de Blasio and the
"It's personal to me. I once was placed at
"I agree, close Rikers. It's old and filthy. Every person is a human, even though they committed a crime, they should be kept in a better place. I feel we should move on from Rikers. I believe there should be a lot of changes in these newly proposed facilities," said
"For Hindus, ahimsa (non-violence and non-harm) is a cornerstone of justice. Since Rikers is the site of so many gross human rights violations, Sadhana adds our voice to those who seek to close it forever and find humane ways to show care and compassion to each other, even when we commit crimes," said
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