City Limits

"Having housing available for people leaving jail is key to achieving this goal, according to Victor Herrera, an organizer with Freedom Agenda, an anti-carceral organization with the Close Rikers campaign."

Digital Chew

“On the Mayor’s watch, 31 people have died and countless others have experienced abuse, neglect, and violence at the Rikers Island penal colony,” commented Darren Mack, co-director of Freedom Agenda.

Freedom Agenda

"Last year...the City Council reaffirmed its commitment to the plan to close Rikers by 2027 and establish a smaller borough-based jail system to reduce incarceration and improve conditions for incarcerated people...it seems Mayor Eric Adams’ determination to stall the plan has not changed either."

Queens Eagle

“There is a realistic plan for reducing the jail population to meet the target of fewer than 3,300 individuals incarcerated in city jails, and a critical component is prioritizing decarceration of people with mental health concerns and expanding supportive housing and community mental health supports,” Jennifer Parish, the director of Criminal Justice Advocacy at Urban Justice Center's Mental Health Project.

Queens Eagle

“There is a realistic plan for reducing the jail population to meet the target of fewer than 3,300 individuals incarcerated in city jails, and a critical component is prioritizing decarceration of people with mental health concerns and expanding supportive housing and community mental health supports,” said Jennifer J. Parish, the director of Criminal Justice Advocacy at Urban Justice Center Mental Health Project

AM NY

“The city has a legal and moral obligation to close Rikers by 2027. That deadline is not optional,” said Darren Mack, co-director of Freedom Agenda.

NY Daily News

“This administration has consistently undermined its legal and moral obligation to close Rikers and complete construction of the borough-based jail system by the mandated deadline of 2027,” said Darren Mack, co-director of Freedom Agenda.

NY Daily News

"Under Adams, New York City has experienced a collapse of its social safety net all the while draconian punitive measures balloon." - This op-ed was written by Darren Mack, the co-director of UJC's Freedom Agenda. 

Queens Eagle

"Darren Mack, the co-director of Freedom Agenda, railed against the DOC, prosecutors and the courts for detaining Savage despite his illness. “No one should die in confinement,” Mack said."

NY1

“We’re here because Mayor Adams proposed a budget which is a recipe for keeping Rikers open by maintaining the Department of Corrections bloated budget,” said Darren Mack, co-director, Freedom Agenda at the Urban Justice Center."