Chief Leader

"Nationally, on average, for every four people in jail, there is one correction officer on staff, whereas on Rikers, for every four people in jail, there are four and half,” wrote [Darren Mack of Freedom Agenda & Councilwoman Carlina Rivera] in a piece advocating for the closure of the island penal colony by 2027.

Epicenter NYC

"After Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed to close Rikers in 2018, three organizations, Freedom Agenda, Create Forward and the Humanities Action Lab, came together to collaborate on how Rikers should be remembered."

NY Daily News

As next year’s budget is negotiated, our city faces an unacceptable status quo, in which our neighbors are languishing on Rikers for longer and longer periods of time, while effective and affordable alternatives exist.

Queens Daily Eagle

"Darren Mack, the co-director of Freedom Agenda, accused the mayor of paying “lip service to investing in mental health” while the “number of people with serious mental illness locked up at Rikers keeps growing under his watch.”

NY Daily News

“Darren Mack of Freedom Agenda called Rikers Island a “death camp.”

FPCFH

"Join us during our service as Marcos Barrios of Freedom Agenda discusses criminal justice and mental health. May 21, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 70-35 112th St, Flushing, NY 11375."

Amsterdam News

“It’s unbelievable that Governor Hochul is holding the whole budget hostage just to lock up more Black and brown people in these deathtrap jails,” said Lezandre Khadu, advocate and member of Freedom Agenda."

Atmos Earth

"There are more promising steps with the feasibility studies regarding the plans for the island once the jail has been closed that look at the wastewater treatment plants and the renewable energy proposals... Freedom Agenda is one of the main organizations doing lots of advocacy and holding the city to account."

News 12

"Groups at Thursday's rally include New York Communities for Change, VOCAL-NY, and Freedom Agenda. They stood alongside the former incarcerated persons, including D'Juan Collins, who says he was at Rikers Island for 15 months when he couldn't afford his $30,000 bail."

Norwood News

Riley, who represents parts of the north Bronx, and Restler, who represents parts of Brooklyn, were joined at the event by advocates from the Freedom Agenda..."Closing Rikers is a foundational part in addressing the injustices of systemic racism in our criminal justice system...” said Riley.