NY Amsterdam News

"Rally speakers included representatives of several organizations involved in the campaign...including Freedom Agenda co-director Darren Mack, who MC’d the demonstration."

NY Amsterdam News

"We know that the safest communities are the ones with the most resources, not the most incarceration,” said Darren Mack, co-director of Freedom Agenda at the Urban Justice Center."

AM NY

"At the rally, hosted by the criminal justice group Freedom Agenda, the speaker repeated her calls to close Rikers by Aug. 31, 2027 — a date required by the 2019 City Council law that mandates the complex be shutterered."

Brownstoner

"Rikers should have been closed decades ago and this administration should be exercising leadership to find every way possible to do it faster,” said Darren Mack, co-director of Freedom Agenda...How many more lives is this mayor willing to see lost or forever damaged in that hellhole?”

NY Daily News

"Freedom Agenda co-director Darren Mack agreed with Gerard and urged Adams to immediately take “tangible steps” toward winding down operations on Rikers. “These include permanently closing empty jails on Rikers as mandated by law, starting with the Otis Bantum Correctional Facility."

NY Daily News

"We urge the mayor to implement these recommendations, and to follow through on the plan to close Rikers that was shaped by people from the communities most affected by under-investment and over-incarceration." - Op-Ed by Darren Mack, Freedom Agenda

News 12

“This proposed delay is offensive to all of the families,” said Darren Mack, co-director of the Freedom Agenda. “Especially the 20 families who lost their loved ones to the NYC jail system under this administration.”

Amsterdam News

"Just as incarcerated people need empathy, our communities most affected by incarceration need support. The mayor frequently says, “If you don’t educate, you will incarcerate,” and I agree." - Lezandre Khadu, Member Advocate with Freedom Agenda.

NYC City Council

“We know that the safest communities are the ones with the most resources, not the most incarceration,” said Darren Mack, Co-Director of Freedom Agenda, Urban Justice Center. “The long-overdue investments Speaker Adams has outlined – in supportive housing, community-based treatment, and diversion and re-entry programs – will make our communities stronger, healthier, and safer, and keep us on the path to closing the Rikers Island jails."

NYC.gov

"My name is Anna Pastoressa, and I am a member of Freedom Agenda. My son spent 6 years on Rikers Island waiting for trial and I visited him every weekend. It was a very stressful and long-lasting process to get to Rikers and one of the most important parts of the visit for me was to bring a package of clean clothes to him..."