Good afternoon, Chair Nurse, and members of the Committee on Criminal Justice. Thank you for the invitation to speak today.  I’m Deanna Logan, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ). Joining me today are colleagues from the Department of Correction (DOC), Chelsea Chard, Senior Advisor for Legislative Affairs and Policy and Alexandria Maldonado, Assistant Commissioner for Strategic Initiatives; the Department of Design & Construction (DDC), Deputy Commissioner Eduardo del Valle; and Correctional Health Services (CHS), Jeanette Merrill, AVP of Communications and External Affairs. We represent partner agencies working tirelessly to achieve our administration’s commitment to close Rikers Island.

MOCJ employs innovative strategies grounded in data as we collaborate with multiple stakeholders to deploy solutions that address our city’s public safety challenges. Thank you for prioritizing our shared goal of replacing Rikers Island with a network of smaller, borough-based jails that are aimed to better serve all New Yorkers. To be clear, we want to do it quickly; we want to do it efficiently; we want to do it thoughtfully; and we want to do it in a way that protects people in custody, correctional staff, and the neighborhoods we all call home.

When we started this initiative together several years ago, we knew it would be hard work. We sit before you today to tell you – we are doing that hard work. Fundamentally, closing Rikers comes down to three commitments: 1) Building state-of-the-art safe and humane jails; 2) Eliminating unnecessary incarceration at the Department of Correction; and 3) Supporting reentry strategies to end recidivism. The city recognizes it must meet these three vital commitments before Rikers Island can close. We understand the challenge, and we are determined to meet it. Thank you for the opportunity to share more about the work that supports these goals.

 This project’s success depends on the construction of state-of-the-art jail facilities that support the safety and well-being of people in custody, CHS Staff, correction officers, and DOC staff who will be the ones to experience the facility every day.  These new facilities will be safer, modern, and — most importantly — closer to families and communities.

This is not just about buildings; it’s about fundamentally transforming how we approach incarceration in our city. These borough-based jails will allow for more individualized care, better access to support services, and subsequently foster a more successful re-entry, which will ultimately improve lives.

As the Lippman report acknowledged, DDC’s utilization of design-build strategies is maximizing efficiency and saving time, by allowing for site prep and foundation work prior to design completion. The design-build teams meet daily with their partners across the city to find new efficiencies and tackle challenges that arise, and later this Spring, they will issue a Notice to Proceed for the creation of our fourth and final new jail.   DDC also initiated robust community engagement in partnership with DOC, which will continue for the duration of this program. It is important outreach that guides both what our buildings will look like, and how we get there. The city is making significant investments in infrastructure, as well, which continue to bring us closer to realizing this endeavor’s capital needs.  We know construction is a disruption, but we are all working to balance speed, safety, adverse impacts on neighborhoods, and our fiscal responsibility to taxpayers.

The report underscores the importance of the Outposted Therapeutic Housing Units initiative, which will create secure, clinical units within three NYC Health + Hospitals facilities for people in DOC custody who have serious medical and/or mental health conditions and would benefit from better access to hospital services and resources. In March 2024, Mayor Adams directed the City to move forward with all three sites in order to best serve the most clinically vulnerable people in custody. The Administration added $160 million in the FY25 September Capital Plan and $32 million in the FY26 Preliminary Capital Plan for the construction of these three critically important units.  We invested $910 million in total for capital construction.

We appreciate the Commission’s transparency and candor in acknowledging there is no way for Rikers to close by 2027.  The original expectations were predicated on a pre-pandemic timeline, and for numerous reasons, they are unattainable today. However, this reality does not change our commitment to the mission, or how fast we’re working to get there.

Public safety of all New Yorkers is the goal in our administration’s approach to addressing the concerns on Rikers, including efforts and investments to meaningfully reduce the number of people who are incarcerated. We don’t want anyone to spend one day more in jail than necessary.  We are grateful to Judge Lippman and the Commission for acknowledging the Administration’s hard work, and for recognizing that we are already making substantial progress in our goal to reduce the Rikers population through programs like supervised release, re-entry, and alternatives to incarceration, so that jail is not the only option to maintain public safety. We agree with the Commission’s assessment that reducing delays across the criminal justice system is key to reducing the jail population. MOCJ is working with our partners in the court system, as well as defenders and district attorneys to speed case processing times to reduce the population on Rikers. The Office of Court Administration (OCA) recently implemented a pilot in Brooklyn that we understand is showing promising early results. OCA plans to implement the new process in courts citywide in the next year.

The city continues to invest in services and programs that offer alternatives to incarceration. We know that we can stop cycles of violence and improve the odds of successful community reintegration by making evidence-based investments in people.

We are working hard to ensure that fewer and fewer people are ever sent or return to jail. Our Supervised Release (SRP) and Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) programs successfully divert tens of thousands of individuals from Rikers every year.  The individual assessments and supports help people navigate the criminal legal system and improve both their compliance and long-term outcomes.

Research and data are critical to developing the kinds of interventions that will allow people with higher needs and with higher risk of recidivism to remain in community either as they await case resolution, or after resolution of a criminal case. Research on this population allowed MOCJ to develop and implement an “intense case management” pilot – a rigorous supervision model with lower caseloads and higher-levels of voluntary engagement. Early results demonstrate success in improving compliance for individuals most at-risk of failing pretrial supervision.

In addition, the Jail Population Review mandated by LL 75/2023 has helped MOCJ’s research team uncover trends and specific groups that support our understanding of who is on Rikers Island, for how long, and how we can prevent entry or their return to incarceration.

While DOC’s jurisdiction to reduce the jail population is limited to the city-sentenced population pursuant to the State Correction Law, the Department repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to reducing the population consistent with public safety.  Commissioner Maginley-Liddie exercises her authority pursuant to Correction Law Article 6A by carefully reviewing the conviction, criminal history, and conduct in custody of individuals sentenced to incarceration on Rikers. For each participant, DOC works with nonprofit partners to develop customized transition plans that include stable housing and employment. In this way, DOC provides opportunities for city-sentenced individuals to finish their sentence in the community, allowing for a more seamless transition.

Ending the cycle of recidivism is crucial to reducing the jail population. As part of our efforts to support individuals after incarceration, MOCJ contracts with community-based providers for in-custody discharge planning, in-community re-entry services, job training and employment.

For every person in DOC custody, CHS provides core re-entry services – including Medicaid screening and application assistance – prior to discharge and provides individualized discharge plans for patients who have significant clinical needs, including all patients receiving mental health treatment.  Patients who have serious mental illness are offered additional services, including case management services.

Housing is a key component of a successful transition from incarceration to community. MOCJ provides transitional housing, with the goal of connection to permanent housing.   For so many of our justice-involved individuals, stability translates to safety – both for them, and their communities. MOCJ research found New Yorkers whose previously unmet housing needs are satisfied, are over 30% less likely to commit a felony than someone who returns to the community from jail without housing support.

As a part of this hearing Council introduced several bills. MOCJ and our partners in the administration, including our sister agencies impacted, are reviewing the bills.  We look forward to discussing the bills and understanding more about the goals of the bills and how we can work together to achieve those objectives.

We invest in people.  And those investments pay dividends through the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers.  The Lippman Commission Report acknowledges what the Administration has been saying all along – Rikers cannot close by 2027. Therefore, we are calling on the Council to work with the Administration to amend the law to provide a realistic and obtainable timeline.

In addition, given that we agree closure of Rikers is not achievable by 2027, we collectively have a duty to ensure continued habitable facilities and adequate services for both staff and people in DOC’s care. This cannot be done without an amendment to the law by Council, which will unlock emergency capital funds that can be used for this critical purpose. Failure to do so will jeopardize all those that must remain on Rikers Island until we can safely close it.

The continued partnership of the courts, Office of the District Attorneys, Offices of Public Defenders, and state government is also vital.  We are moving in the right direction on case processing, but every person in these organizations has a role to play, and each one of them can help push this mission forward.

Let me reiterate: We will close Rikers Island. This is tough work – but we are making progress every day. We will get to the finish line by working together thoughtfully, and by continuing to commit to evidence-based solutions that are already making a difference – Alternatives to Incarceration; Supervised Release; Transitional Housing – and with renewed commitments from all our partners at the state, the Courts, the Offices of the District Attorneys and the Offices of the Public Defenders.  We all want the same result — a justice system that is fair; jails that are humane; and a New York that’s safe for everyone.  Thank you for your continued partnership in this pursuit.