The city’s correction commissioner is unclear if she will stay on in the new administration.
“I continue to work, Courtney, making sure everybody is safe living and working on Rikers Island,” Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie told NY1 this week.
What You Need To Know
The federal monitor says Rikers Island is still riddled with violence and dysfunction
A federal judge is moving forward with a “remediation manager”
The manger will oversee much of Rikers Island. But some have criticized the new structure, calling it “confusing.”
That’s midst an overhaul of how Rikers Island will be run.
Federal Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued an order in December detailing how a new receivership will work under her leadership, saying she is “actively engaged” in evaluating applicants and interviewing for one of the biggest posts in corrections in the country.
“I have said all along, yes, I am a candidate,” Dean Williams, who ran prisons and jails in Colorado and Alaska, said.
He is one of nearly 30 people who applied to be what the judge is calling “remediation manager” for Rikers.
“I’ve encouraged the parties to pick the best candidate possible because I think the situation on Rikers is profoundly dysfunctional and profoundly broken,” Williams told NY1.
“There are several people who didn’t apply, it wasn’t just me, because this is too confusing, and no one wants to take a job where they come in and aren’t able to do that job especially one as important as fixing Rikers Island,” Vincent Schiraldi, the former corrections commissioner, said.
He decided against applying.
“Myself, previous commissioners of New York City corrections and the receiver in Chicago have all said this is a recipe for disaster and really needs to be rethought,” Schiraldi said.
Schiraldi says it’s because of this structure.
The remediation manager will report directly to the judge and oversee many aspects of how Rikers Island operates — like anything to do with violence. But the judge is keeping both the federal monitor, who reports on how the department is doing, and will keep the position of commissioner.
The commissioner will still report to the mayor.
In her December order, she said the manager will have the powers of the commissioner.
But she also repeatedly urged the new manager and the commissioner to work together.
Attorneys for the detainees on Rikers who brought this case say they’re optimistic this plan will improve conditions.
“The court’s order gives the remediation manager a path to make change, yes,” said Kayla Simpson of the Legal Aid Society. “Like all reform efforts, that depends on everyone’s cooperation with that person.”
New leadership at City Hall is expected to be more cooperative after former Mayor Eric Adams fought this decision for years.
In a statement, a City Hall spokesperson said: “The Court determined to appoint a remediation manager over the prior administration’s objections. With new leadership at City Hall, we are ready to improve conditions at Rikers by immediately working with a court appointed individual.”