Issue Briefs

1. Rikers Island is a Toxic Penal Colony – Rikers is neither a single prison nor a single jail. It is the last remaining penal colony in the United States. It remains a stain on New York City and must be closed forever.

2. Existing Borough Jails in NYC Are Unfit for Humans – Aside from the 10 jails on Rikers, NYC operates 4 jails in the boroughs. All existing borough jails are as decrepit as the jails on Rikers.

3. We Can Reduce & Eventually End Jail Incarceration in NYC – For more than 20 years, crime rates in NYC have dropped along with incarceration rates.

4. Renovated Borough Facilities & Ongoing Organizing Can Reduce the Harms of Incarceration – We can and must still influence the design and operation of the new borough-based jail system.

5. We Can and Must Invest in Communities & Address Conditions of Confinement – It is not an option for the City to say it cannot afford to provide humane treatment.

6. Rikers’ Future Should be Determined by the People/Communities Harmed By Its Legacy – After hundreds of conversations with people who’ve been incarcerated on Rikers and had loved ones there, a consensus emerged: use the island for green infrastructure through the Renewable Rikers Plan.

7. Only Continued Organizing Will Guarantee the Closure of Rikers – On the commitments the City has made – we must hold them accountable. Where the City has yet not agreed to our demands, we must continue to organize and win.