"The court has given the city and this administration numerous opportunities to follow recommendations of the monitor. Yet the city has shown again and again that it is unwilling or unable to make meaningful change on Rikers Island. This administration has insisted it can do so with bluster and arrogance, yet has never earned the confidence of New Yorkers.
"The administration has refused to implement measures earnestly or put forth a plan that would mitigate the crisis. With a federal receivership now likely, I am cautiously hopeful that a new approach can bring real reforms and help protect people on both sides of the bars.”
"Even as it seems necessary, I don’t celebrate this development — receivership is not a panacea, and comes with many of its own challenges, particularly in light of the incoming presidential administration. It is critical that any new oversight of the city’s jail systems is guided by a task force of advocates and experts who have long been involved in that work, and in developing solutions to failing systems, rather than trying to maintain them. It is just as critical that receivership helps accelerate, rather than impede, the moral and legal obligation to finally close Rikers. Ultimately, the most lasting way to prevent the harm on Rikers will be to close it down."
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