Feds call for takeover of NYC jail system as humanitarian crisis at Rikers spirals

Eight years after entering into a historic agreement with New York City to force reforms at Rikers Island, the federal government has effectively declared the multi-million effort a failure as Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, said Monday that he will seek to have the jails system taken over by the federal government.

If approved by a federal judge, such a takeover would involve the installation of a federal receiver who would wrest decision-making powers from Mayor Eric Adams’ administration and possibly scrap union agreements and other long-standing work rules. The announcement comes two days after the death of William Johnstone, the 25th person to die in city custody or shortly after being released since Adams came into office last year.

“This is a collective failure with deep roots, spanning multiple mayoral administrations and [Department of Correction] commissioners,” Williams said in a brief statement. “But after eight years of trying every tool in the toolkit, we cannot wait any longer for substantial progress to materialize.”

The mayor has said he opposes any such takeover, and before Williams’ announcement on Monday, he heaped praise on Correction Commissioner Louis Molina, saying he is doing a “goddamn good job.”

But when it comes to management of the jails, Adams and Molina have few allies beyond the correction officers’ unions. The city comptroller, public advocate, several council members and public defender organizations have all demanded a receiver in recent months.

The prospect of a receiver will come before U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain on Aug. 10.

The federal courts have had direct involvement in Rikers since 2015, when one of Williams’ predecessors, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, entered into a consent decree with the city to resolve violations of constitutional rights of those held in city jails. Almost all people incarcerated are pre-trial, so they have not yet been convicted of crimes.

The consent decree stemmed from a landmark lawsuit filed by the Legal Aid Society alleging that correction officers abused detainees so badly and consistently that dramatic action was needed to stop it. To oversee reforms, a federal monitor, Steve Martin, was appointed. His team has so far collected about $20 million in taxpayer dollars, issuing dozens of reports describing ever deteriorating conditions.

Over the eight years since the consent decree, as Gothamist reported last year, the city jails system has grown far deadlier and more dangerous. The rate of deaths, fights, assaults, injuries, slashings, stabbings, and officer use of force has skyrocketed.

While Martin has acted cooperatively through most of his time as monitor, in recent weeks Martin has grown exasperated with the city, alleging that Molina was withholding information about dangerous incidents, including the paralysis of one detainee and death of another, and not appearing committed to promised reforms.

Martin wrote, with italics for emphasis: “The current rates of [officer] use of force, stabbing and slashing, fights, assaults on staff, and in-custody deaths are not typical, they are not expected, they are not normal.”

Last week, Martin told Judge Swain that the city should be held in contempt, paving the way for the takeover. Martin described how officers had lost control of the jails, citing surveillance footage documented by his team. In one recent incident, nine detainees physically and sexually assaulted a detainee for 16 minutes while an officer was stationed nearby.

​One backdrop of Monday’s bombshell announcement are the city laws that mandate Rikers Island shut down by 2027. Those plans are in motion — new, smaller jails are being built in four boroughs — but the population of Rikers has increased under Adams, and now stands at more than 6,000 people. The new jails only have space for 3,300.

Correction Officers Benevolent Association President Benny Boscio said any federal control of city jails would still require "boots on the ground."

"Contrary to the false narrative that suggests a federal receiver is somehow a silver bullet that will solve all of our problems, the reality is that the only way to maintain safety and security in our jails is by investing in and supporting the men and women who put their lives at risk everyday to protect the lives of all New Yorkers," Boscio said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Correction did not immediately return requests for comment.

This story has been updated with comment from the correction officers' union.