Thirty days after Mayor Eric Adams signed a last-minute, shameful executive order to block the implementation of the law banning the prolonged isolation of solitary confinement in city jails, Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, who sponsored the law, is questioning whether the administration has taken any steps to address that purported emergency and implement the law as required. This comes after another incarcerated New Yorker lost their life on Rikers last week, part of a dangerous status quo that the administration is intent on preserving.
The mayor’s executive order, originally set for 30 days, is required to be constantly renewed in order to continue to fail to enforce the law. Recent reporting has suggested that the administration never had any intention to follow the law, and a stream of misinformation from the mayor suggests he has not even read it.
“The fact that a month has passed without any clear evidence of urgency or action from the administration on this issue reveals this state of emergency for what it always was – a political ploy that undermines the rule of law and the trust of New Yorkers,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “The ‘law-and-order’ administration should know that their opposition to a law doesn’t make it optional, and while they continue to stretch this executive order without end, they extend the suffering of people in isolation on Rikers Island. I would hope that they are at least implementing the remainder of the law, and working toward faithfully executing it, but I have seen no evidence of either – I hope they prove me wrong.”
In a letter to the mayor and Department of Correction commissioner on August 12, the Public Advocate asked whether the administration was at least taking any steps to alleviate the emergency which ostensibly prevents parts of the law from being enforced, and demanded transparency about whether the administration had implemented the rest of the law as mandated.
Local Law 42 (LL42) was passed in December of 2023 before being vetoed by Mayor Adams at the last moment. The Council then overrode that veto by more votes than the bill was originally passed. Despite this, the administration has continued to spread false information about the bill.
Among the questions the Public Advocate asked of the administration are:
- What unique circumstances have materialized since the passage of LL42 to spur the declaration of a local state of emergency?
- Of those provisions of LL42 untouched by your EO, which are being implemented as mandated? THE CITY recently reported that Rikers’ de-escalation unit is not in use. Is there another area/facility DOC is using for de-escalation? Does the DOC plan to use these units for their intended purpose?
- As LL42 does not prohibit the use of restraints when transporting incarcerated people between facilities or to and from court, what does the DOC object to in this section of the law? What does this EO change?
- Are officers (or aides) regularly rounding to assess conditions of those held in de-escalation confinement and/or restrictive housing? How often?
- How many people are in each unit of restrictive or enhanced supervision housing at this time? Are those held in restrictive housing units receiving their mandated out-of-cell time, group programming, showers, and medical care? If not, what corrective measures have been taken to ensure they do in the future?
While the mayor’s order suspends the most central elements of the law, other aspects should remain in place despite it – including a ban on shower cages and some limits on extended ‘de-escalation confinement.’ However, given the administration’s consistent opposition to and apparent lack of preparation for the law’s effective date, it is unclear whether the DOC is complying with these provisions.
In his questioning, the Public Advocate states that “The administration’s ongoing use of misinformation about the law is alarming. It suggests the Department of Correction does not have a proper understanding of LL42, or alternatively, that there is an intentional effort underway by the administration to mislead the public. Irrespective of the reason, it is unacceptable… Given the administration’s continued lack of transparency about Rikers’ internal operations, as well as repeated reports of an inability to follow regulations in place, the public is owed an explanation which provisions of LL42 are currently being followed, as well as the preparations underway for the full implementation of the law.”
Read the full letter below. To date, the administration has not substantively responded to the Public Advocate’s inquiry.
Dear Mayor Adams and Commissioner Maginley-Liddie:
I write to you today concerning Emergency Executive Order (“EO”) 624, which, in effect, keeps incarcerated people subject to the prolonged isolation of solitary confinement and is in violation of Local Law 42 (“LL42”), which was to be implemented on July 28th, six months after it wasenacted.
As your executive order declared a state of emergency to justify suspending certain aspects of the law, I expect that urgent steps are being taken to alleviate that emergency. In the interim, I also expect that the administration will implement those provisions left untouched by EO 624, as mandated by a duly passed local law.
This law is designed to make New York City jails safer for both staff and detainees. As of this year, four people have died in custody. Correction officers themselves have communicated through various channels that they do not feel safe. Solitary confinement itself leads to increased death and violence in jails, endangering those incarcerated, as well as staff. Yet this order, in effect, maintains that status quo.
The administration’s ongoing use of misinformation about the law is alarming. It suggests the Department of Correction (“DOC”) does not have a proper understanding of LL42, or alternatively, that there is an intentional effort underway by the administration to mislead the public. Irrespective of the reason, it is unacceptable.
Given the administration’s continued lack of transparency about Rikers’ internal operations, as well as repeated reports of an inability to follow regulations in place, the public is owed an explanation which provisions of LL42 are currently being followed, as well as the preparations underway for the full implementation of the law.
To best serve our constituents, I pose the following preliminary questions: ● What unique circumstances have materialized since the passage of LL42 to spur the declaration of a local state of emergency? ● Of those provisions of LL42 untouched by your EO, which are being implemented as mandated? THE CITY recently reported that Rikers’ de-escalation unit is not in use. Is there another area/facility DOC is using for de-escalation? Does the DOC plan to use these units for their intended purpose? ● As LL42 does not prohibit the use of restraints when transporting incarcerated people between facilities or to and from court, what does the DOC object to in this section of the law? What does this EO change? ● Are officers (or aides) regularly rounding to assess conditions of those held in de-escalation confinement and/or restrictive housing? How often? ● How many people are in each unit of restrictive or enhanced supervision housing at this time? Are those held in restrictive housing units receiving their mandated out-of-cell time, group programming, showers, and medical care? If not, what corrective measures have been taken to ensure they do in the future?
I hope that we can move forward honestly and transparently to implement the law the City Council has approved twice and the administration is required to enforce. For further discussion, contact Chief Deputy Public Advocate for Policy Veronica Aveis at vaveis@advocate.nyc.gov and Deputy Public Advocate Jeffrey Severe at jsevere@advocate.nyc.gov. Thank you for your time and your attention.
Sincerely,
Jumaane D. Williams Public Advocate for the City of New York
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