Rikers Island Crisis

Updated: August 2024

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What is Rikers?

Rikers Island, an island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx, contains New York City's main incarceration facility. In the fiscal year 2022, Rikers Island had an average daily inmate population of 5,559, with 17,803 admissions over the course of the year (City & State New York). For years, activists have been working to bring attention to the numerous human rights violations and harsh living conditions at Rikers, which have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is important to note that Rikers is a jail, not a prison. It is meant to house individuals held by the courts and awaiting trial, and those sentenced to one year or less of jail time (NYC DOC). However, some individuals’ cases have persisted for years, one of the most egregious examples of this being the story of Kalief Browder. According to the 2022 Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report, “data shows that the longer one remains in custody, the greater the likelihood that they will be involved in a violent incident.” As of July 2024, 83.8% of those incarcerated at Rikers are awaiting trial.

Like the U.S. mass incarceration system as a whole, incarceration at Rikers disproportionately impacts Black people and other people of color. According to a NYC Department of Corrections (DOC) report, 58.3% of the individuals incarcerated at Rikers between April-June 2024 (average daily population) are African-American. Similarly, on July 31, 2024, 58.5% of the 6,398 individuals in custody in NYC jails were Black, although only around 22% of NYC’s population is Black.

Number of People in NYC DOC Custody by Race (July 31, 2024)

Incarceration FAQ

Learn more about the incarceration crisis in New York City, New York State, and the U.S. as a whole.

JAILS are county or city facilities housing pretrial defendants or those unable to make bail.

PRISONS are state or federally-run and typically incarcerate those with sentences over a year (PBS).

Incarceration Numbers

The U.S. criminal justice system has 1,566 state prisons, 98 federal prisons, 3,116 local jails, 1,323 juvenile correctional facilities, 142 immigration detention facilities, and 80 Indian country jails, as well as in military prisons, civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in the U.S. territories (PPI).
Over 1.9 million people are incarcerated in federal, state, local, and tribal systems in the U.S.—the highest incarceration rate in the world (PPI).
Since 1970, the United States incarceration rate has increased by 500%, with the U.S. accounting for 20% of the global prison population (ACLU).
Of the roughly 448,000 people incarcerated in local jails in the U.S., over 80% have not been convicted (PPI).
More than 60% of individuals incarcerated in the U.S. are detained pre-trial because they can’t afford to post bail (USCCR).
The number of Americans incarcerated for drug offenses rose from 41,000 in 1980 to nearly a half million in 2014 (PBS).
New York City's Rikers Island is one of the largest jail facilities in the country, with about 6,000 people currently incarcerated there as of June 2024 (City and State NY).
As of mid-2021, 87% of those incarcerated across NYC jails had not yet been convicted and were detained pre-trial (Vera).

$$$

As of 2019, the United States spent over $80 billion each year on its incarceration systems, a number that is likely an underestimate (Marshall Project).
State and local government spending on prisons and jails has increased 3x as fast as elementary and secondary education over the past few decades (PBS).
New York City spends about $556,539 to incarcerate a single person for a year, a cost that nearly quadrupled between 2011 and 2021 (NYC Comptroller).

Solitary Confinement + Mental Health

On a given day in 2019, about 6.28% of the U.S. prison population was in solitary confinement, with about 5.64% held in solitary in local and federal jails. Both are likely conservative estimates (Solitary Watch).
Mental health issues are prevalent in the U.S. criminal justice system, with 43% of those incarcerated in state prisons diagnosed with a mental disorder. However, 74% of people in state prisons report not receiving any mental health care while incarcerated (PPI).
In New York State, the prison rate of suicide was more than 5x higher for those in solitary confinement between 2015-2019 (Vera).

National Population Demographics

At the end of 2022, 32% of those sentenced to state or federal prison were Black, 31% were white, 23% Hispanic, 10% multiracial or some other race, 2% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 1% Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander (BJS).
African-Americans are incarcerated at more than 5x the rate of whites (NAACP).
Native people are incarcerated in state and federal prisons at a rate of 763 / 100,000. This is 2x the national rate (350 / 100,000) and more than 4x the state and federal prison incarceration rate of white people (PPI + BJS).
About 196,000 women and girls are incarcerated in the U.S., and women’s incarceration has grown at 2x the pace of men’s incarceration in recent decades (PPI).
As of 2021, Black youth were 4.7x as likely to be placed (i.e., detained or committed) in juvenile facilities as their white peers (Sentencing Project).
42% percent of youth in placement are Black, even though Black Americans comprise only 15% of all youth across the United States (Sentencing Project).

What's happening at Rikers?

Due to severe staff shortages and a growing population, Rikers has become increasingly dangerous for the incarcerated population. Many have been kept in overcrowded intake cells while awaiting admission, denied food or access to toilets and showers, been subjected to high rates of COVID-19 infections with inadequate medical care, and denied countless other human rights and services.

In 2022, lawmakers and activists continued expressing concern for the ongoing issues at Rikers Island. In September 2022, Gothamist published a report with photographic evidence exposing the dire conditions at the institution. Concern related to the understaffing, gang violence, crumbling infrastructure, and mistreatment of inmates at Rikers continued to grow.

Due to the fact that the incarcerated population at Rikers Island is projected to exceed 7,000 in fewer than two years, New York City Department of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina has expressed doubt that the jail could stay within the 3,300 population limit and close its doors by 2027.

Further information:

The Closure of Rikers Island

Rikers, which opened in 1932, has a history of abuse and negligence, with major criticisms arising in the 1970s and '80s of its overpopulation, dangerous conditions, and violence against adolescent prisoners. Public calls for the jail’s closure began under former New York City Mayor Ed Koch (1978-1989) and have continued to this day. To read a comprehensive, 10-year timeline of the effort to close Rikers (spanning August 2014-March 2024), please visit this article. Below are a few notable points on the timeline:

Aug 2014: The US Justice Department reports a pervasive culture of violence on Rikers Island, revealing a violation of adolescent inmates' constitutional rights and the use of force for control.
Mar 2015: Former Mayor Bill De Blasio (2014-2021) and former city Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte announce a 14-point plan to ensure a safe environment for inmates on Rikers Island following increased calls for action.
Oct 2019: De Blasio and former New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (2018-2022) agree to close the Rikers jail complex by 2026 and open four new jails (one in each borough except Staten Island) for $8.7 billion, approved by the City Council.
Oct 2020: The plan to close Rikers and build new jails is officially delayed by the city until 2027.
Nov 2020: The New York City Department of Corrections (DOC) announces plans to close the Manhattan Detention Complex and the Otis Bantum Correctional Center (Otis Bantum remains open as of 2024, and plans to demolish Manhattan Detention Complex have been stalled).
Sep 2021: New York City Congressional Democrats call on President Joe Biden to investigate the Rikers humanitarian crisis.
Jan 2022: Hundreds of inmates protest harsh conditions at the Rikers island jail complex, including lack of heat, inconsistent medical care, violent fighting, and security and sanitation issues.
Sep 2022: Mayor of New York City Eric Adams (2022-) doubts Rikers Island's closure by 2027 due to the jail's ‘high number of violent criminals.’
Nov 2022: A Manhattan federal judge rules against a request from detainees' lawyers to transfer Rikers Island to federal oversight, siding with city leaders. The decision, filed in response to a 2015 court decree to improve New York City jails, has sparked debates about needing a third-party federal receiver to oversee the system.
Dec 2022: Edgardo Mejias, 39, dies at Rikers, marking the highest Rikers death rate in 12 years (19 deaths). Rikers Island's population continues multiplying.
Apr 2023: Deputy Investigations Commissioner Manuel Hernandez (2022-2023) resigns amid investigations into how he handled excessive force cases—allegedly closing cases or filing lighter chargers instead of accurately charging officers.
Oct 2023: Federal monitor Steve Martin criticizes the city and DOC's reform efforts in a report, citing 74 fights, 23 suicide attempts, 15 fires, 34 staff assaults, and one sexual harassment allegation in city jails over a week. The report accuses former New York City Department of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina (2023-2023) and staff of hiding assaults.
Nov 2023: The federal government formally pursues the appointment of a federal receiver to address the violence at Rikers Island, citing high force usage and unnecessary force patterns.
Feb 2024: Gothamist reports that the city plans to house more detainees than originally planned at the new, borough-based jails (total capacity 4,160 between Brooklyn, The Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens). Around 6,000 people are currently incarcerated at Rikers.
May 2024: New York City issued contracts totaling nearly $7 billion with two construction partnerships to build the new Queens and Bronx borough-based jails. Timelines for both projects placed completion in 2031 – four years after the 2027 Close Rikers deadline.
July 2024: On July 9, Federal judge Laura Swain ordered a hearing set for Sept. 25 to determine whether the DOC should be held in contempt of court failing to reduce the amount of violence in city jails.
July 2024: On July 27, Mayor Adams issued an emergency order to stop the DOC from implementing significant aspects of the new law that would limit solitary confinement in city jails (one day before it was supposed to go into effect).

June 2023: DOC Will No Longer Announce Deaths at Rikers

As of the end of May 2023, the Department of Corrections has stopped notifying the media of the deaths of people incarcerated at Rikers. DOC chief spokesperson Frank Dwyer said that notifying the media of deaths “was a practice, not a policy.” For the past two years, the DOC included the names of deceased inmates in their press releases, as well as their housing facility and the date and time of their death. However, the recent shift has led to the DOC misinforming not only the media, but also the federal monitor responsible for overseeing the deaths and injuries sustained by people held at Rikers.

Stanley Richards, who was incarcerated at Rikers in the 1980s and later served as the department’s deputy corrections commissioner under Mayor de Blasio, emphasizes that the department is moving backwards, “back to the way in which jails were managed decades ago.” Kayla Simpson, staff attorney with the Prisoners’ Rights Project at The Legal Aid Society, asserts that “it’s part of a series of attempts to isolate the jails from scrutiny to control the narrative.” By not announcing inmate deaths, the DOC masks the reality of the violent conditions within Rikers and cuts of inmates from federal monitors, from the public, and from their families.

Take Action / How to Help:

Reach out directly to your city council member and NYC Mayor Eric Adams to push your representatives to focus on decarceration and invest in community-based treatment programs and social services.
From NY Coalition to Close the Death Camps: Send commissary funds, and fund the inside, or share the fundraiser of someone who is incarcerated. Here are some ongoing commissary funds:
- Survived & Punished NY Mutual Aid Commissary Fund
- Repro Legal Defense Fund (includes commissary & bail)
- F2L Relief Fund
- Parole Preparation Project Welcome Home Fund
- Funds for Edgardo Mejias Family
- Commissary Funds for M in Rikers
Participate in future social media campaigns like “Rikers is a Death Camp” (through which you can share a post about your abolitionist vision for shutting down Rikers) or “End the Letter Ban Inside NYC Jails Phone Zap” (through which participants pressured DOC Commissioner & the Board of Corrections to allow physical letters into Rikers).
Join the mailing list for Freedom Agenda, a New York-based organization that is fighting to decarcerate New York City and redistribute resources to the communities that have been most harmed by mass criminalization and system racism.
- Join Freedom Agenda for member meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 7 PM to take action together and contribute your voice to this movement.
Donate to the Rikers Public Memory Project to support their work to make the closure of RIkers a reality and ensure that its essential problems are never repeated, in New York City or elsewhere; and to make sure that those who are most affected by Rikers can reclaim that history for themselves (from rikersmemoryproject.org).
Sign a petition to demand the mayor, other city officials, judges, and district attorneys cut the number of people held on Rikers, cut the budgets for the NYPD and Department of Correction, shut down Rikers, and invest in housing, healthcare, education, and jobs for affected communities. #CutShutInvestNY
Contact Mayor Adams to shut down Rikers Jail.
Join the Katal Center mailing list to receive updates regarding their work on ending mass incarceration and the drug war in Connecticut and New York.

Organizations/Initiatives:

Deaths at Rikers (2024)

1/4—Chima Williams, 43

1/19—Manuel Luna, 30

3/22—Roy Savage, 51

7/14—Charizma Jones, 23

8/20—Anthony Jordan, 63

Close Rikers/No New Jails, Josh McPhee (2018)

Deaths at Rikers (2023)

2/4—Marvin Pines, 65

5/16—Rubu Zhao, 52

5/27—Joshua Valles, 31

7/4—Felix Taveras, 40

7/15—William Johnstone, 47

7/23—Curtis Davis, 44

8/22—Donny Ubiera, 33

10/5—Manish Kunwar, 27

7/6—Ricky Howell, 60

Deaths at Rikers (2022)

During 2022, 19 people died at Rikers Island. This is the highest number of deaths at Rikers since 2013, when about twice as many people were incarcerated there.

2/27—Tarz Youngblood, 38

5/7—Dashawn Carter, 25

6/18—Antonio Bradley, 28

7/10—Elijah Muhammad, 31

8/30—Michael Nieves, 40

3/17—George Pagan, 59

5/18—Mary Yehudah, 31

6/20—Anibal Carrasquillo, 39

7/15—Michael Lopez, 34

9/14—Kevin Bryan, 35

3/18—Herman Diaz, 52

5/28—Emanuel Sullivan, 20

6/21—Albert Drye, 52

8/15—Ricardo Cruciani, 68

9/20—Gregory Acevedo, 48

9/22—Robert Pondexter, 59

10/22—Erick Tavira, 28

10/31—Gilberto Garcia, 26

12/11—Edgardo Mejias, 39

Learn More:

Tracking the Deaths in the Rikers Island Jail Complex 2022 (PDF—New York Times—August 16, 2022)
The Q100 bus to Rikers can be a lifeline for families with loved ones inside the jail (NPR—January 19, 2022)
A Look Inside Rikers: ‘Fight Night’ and Gang Rule, Captured on Video (PDF—New York Times—January 12, 2022)
The future of solitary confinement in New York City jails (NPR—January 9, 2022)
Rikers: The Obituaries. Fifteen people at the jail died in 2021. These are their lives — and how they came to an end. (PDF—New York Magazine—December 27, 2021)
Eric Adams Says He Wants to Close Rikers. It May Not Be That Simple. (PDF—New York Times—December 17, 2021)
Rikers Detainees Are Being Transferred From One “Hellhole” to Another (The Nation—October 19, 2021)
How New York City Ended Mass Incarceration for 30 Days and Could Do It Again (Gotham Gazette—October 25, 2021)
No Crime Is Worth That (The Daily—October 14, 2021)
New York's New Death Penalty: The Death Toll of Mass Incarceration in a Post Execution Era (Columbia University Center for Justice—October 12, 2021)
Inside Rikers: Dysfunction, Lawlessness and Detainees in Control (PDF—New York Times—October 11, 2021)
N.Y.C. Sues Jail Officers, Saying Illegal Strike Worsened Rikers Crisis (PDF—New York Times—September 20, 2021)
Hochul Orders Release of 191 Detainees as Rikers Crisis Deepen (PDF—New York Times—September 17, 2021)
AT RIKERS ISLAND, INMATES LOCKED IN SHOWERS WITHOUT FOOD AND DEFECATING IN BAGS (The Intercept—September 16)
Self-Harm Is Exploding In New York City Jails, Internal Numbers Show (The City—September 7, 2021)
Rikers wrath: Families, advocates demand mayor immediately reduce prison population (AMNY—August 31, 2021)
An ‘Absolute Emergency’ at Rikers Island as Violence Increases (PDF—New York Times—August 24, 2021)
COVID Is Surging Back Into Rikers and NYC Jails (Gothamist—September 15, 2021)
Glaring Racial Disparities Persist in NYC Jails: Study (The Crime Report—April 20, 2021)

January 2022 Rikers Hunger Strike:

In January 2022, around 200 detainees and community members engaged in a hunger strike at the Robert N. Davoren Complex on Rikers Island to protest the jail's unjust and inhumane conditions. Those protesting are asked for basic human services like access to mental health resources.

AMPLIFY: Continue to directly follow and share updates from campaigns led by directly impacted New Yorkers, like #HALTsolidarity @NYCAIC.

GET INVOLVED: Sign up and make continued efforts to support advocacy days from organizations like RAPP.

We will leave this information available as long as it continues to responsibly bring awareness to what’s going on. Always follow, listen to, and honor the work of local organizations led by directly impacted community members first.

Hundreds at Rikers Protest Conditions, Citing Covid and the Cold (PDF—New York Times—January 11, 2022)
HEAR IT: Prisoners on Rikers Island stage hunger strike against inhumane conditions (AMNY—January 11, 2022)
Rikers Island inmates go on hunger strike over lack of basic services (NY Daily News—January 11, 2022)
Advocates respond to hunger strike in New York City jails (#HALTsolitary—January 11, 2022)

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