A federal judge on Tuesday wrested control of the Rikers Island jail complex from the city of New York, putting it in the hands of an independent receiver charged with improving conditions at the troubled complex.
In a highly anticipated 77-page ruling, Judge Laura Swain wrote that the receiver, which she called a “remediation manager,” would report directly to her and oversee efforts to end the “ongoing violations of the constitutional rights of people in custody in the New York City jails” — including chronic violence, fatalities and abuse.
The decision is a setback for Mayor Eric Adams, who had argued against ceding control of the complex.
The receiver will be “empowered to take all actions necessary” to improve conditions at Rikers, the ruling states. People pushing for the appointment said a receiver would have enormous power to hire staff, change city policies and alter existing union contracts.
Judge Swain asked both the city and the plaintiffs in the class-action court case — a group led by the Legal Aid Society — to propose four possible candidates for the receivership job. Swain said she would interview the candidates, who can also apply directly, and pick someone “promptly.”
Adams shrugged off the ruling Tuesday afternoon, arguing that the judge had overlooked improving conditions at Rikers under his watch.
“The problems at Rikers are decades in the making,” he said. “How much oversight are you going to do before you realize that there are some systemic problems that we have turned around?”
Attorneys for the plaintiffs hailed what they called a “historic” decision.
“For years, the New York City Department of Correction has failed to follow federal court orders to enact meaningful reforms, allowing violence, disorder, and systemic dysfunction to persist in the jails,” said the attorneys, Mary Lynne Werlwas and Debra Greenberger. “This appointment marks a critical turning point — an overdue acknowledgment that city leadership has proven unable to protect the safety and constitutional rights of incarcerated individuals.”
Five people have died in city jails this year, and 38 detainees have died under Adams’ tenure in office.
Meanwhile, efforts to close Rikers Island and replace it by 2027 with four smaller borough-based jails have stalled. The jail population has swelled to nearly 7,100, even though the plan to close Rikers requires shrinking that population below 5,000, and construction on the new jails is likely to drag on past the legally-mandated deadline. Adams himself has reportedly floated plans to remake a planned Manhattan jail into a mental health facility — earning criticism from City Council leaders who said the mayor is legally bound to follow the original closure plan.
