By Jacob Kaye<\/p>\n
The City Council this week demanded the Department of Correction answer long-ignored questions about how it’s changed \u2013 or hasn\u2019t changed \u2013 its often criticized process for fielding and addressing complaints detainees make about conditions on Rikers Island. <\/p>\n
City Councilmember Selvena Brooks-Powers, who chairs the Council\u2019s Committee on Criminal Justice, pressed Department of Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards to turn over information about the DOC\u2019s grievance process, which has been described by detainees, their families, attorneys and lawmakers as a black hole.<\/p>\n
In a letter shared exclusively with the Eagle, Brooks-Powers gave the DOC until May 15 to share information about changes to its grievance process and publish them publicly online, something Richards\u2019 predecessor promised twice before to do but never followed through on. <\/p>\n
While the lawmaker acknowledged that Richards inherited the problems with the grievance process and the deadlines blown by former Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, she said she expects the new administration to get the Council information about the grievance process quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the last several years, the Council has been trying to compel the Department of Correction to provide an updated grievance process,\u201d Brooks-Powers said in an interview with the Eagle. \u201cBut they have kicked the can down the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
In some ways, the process by which detainees make complaints about conditions on Rikers Island is similar to the way New Yorkers outside the jails can file complaints about city life. They call 311. <\/p>\n
Detainees can call to make complaints or requests about food, clothing or medical care. Their loved ones can also call to make complaints about a detainee\u2019s access to school, treatment by staff or potential wrongdoings committed behind bars. <\/p>\n
Last year, over 40,000 calls \u2013 or over 109 calls per day on average \u2013 were made to 311 regarding conditions in the dangerous jail complex where over 100 people have died in the past decade. <\/p>\n
Unlike other 311 complaints, calls regarding Rikers aren\u2019t diverted to the relevant agency and published in a public, online record system that shows whether or not the issue has been addressed. <\/p>\n
Instead, they are sent in an online form directly to the commissioner\u2019s office, where advocates say they often sit ignored or are routed through a convoluted and opaque process that doesn\u2019t allow the aggrieved person to see where their complaint stands.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s some kind of breakdown here in the system,\u201d City Councilmember Sandy Nurse said during a 2024 hearing on the grievance process. \u201cIn design and practice the DOC\u2019s grievance process leaves many vulnerable individuals who have not been convicted of a crime to suffer in an isolated environment without an adequate opportunity to have their voice heard.\u201d<\/p>\n