{"id":37619,"date":"2025-11-12T21:37:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T21:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/37619\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T21:37:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T21:37:18","slug":"federal-monitor-says-its-done-overseeing-bronx-youth-jail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/37619\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal Monitor Says It\u2019s Done Overseeing Bronx Youth Jail"},"content":{"rendered":"

After years of oversight, the court-appointed federal monitor for Horizon Juvenile Center said its work at the Bronx youth jail is \u201ccomplete\u201d in a report<\/a> issued Friday.<\/p>\n

The monitoring, required as part of a major civil rights lawsuit settlement known as Nunez in 2015, had initially applied to the Department of Correction to address abuses by officers on Rikers Island. The Bronx facility, a dorm-like detention center which houses teens detained pre-trial, fell into the monitor\u2019s purview in 2018 when 16- and 17-year-olds moved there from Rikers along with DOC officers after the state passed its \u201cRaise the Age\u201d law a year earlier.<\/p>\n

The monitoring was supposed to end<\/a> when DOC gave up its control of Horizon as its officers departed in 2020, when the last young detainees transferred from Rikers left. The city Administration for Children\u2019s Services was then left in charge, and entered into a voluntary agreement in 2021 to continue the federal oversight.<\/p>\n

Recent city<\/a> and state<\/a> audits based on investigations through 2023 found that ACS has struggled with staffing and operating the center as more young people faced criminal charges and the center\u2019s population ballooned.<\/p>\n

But the report Friday, based on observations between last July and June this year, noted several areas of improvement despite the growing population: Assaults among teens and toward staff have decreased since ACS took over in 2021 despite a slight uptick over the last year, while staffing \u2014 \u201cwhich was initially at a crisis level\u201d \u2014 also experienced a \u201csignificant increase\u201d compared to the same period a year earlier.<\/p>\n

The child welfare agency has also made \u201csubstantial recoveries of dangerous contrabands\u201d through a newly developed Special Operations Unit within the ACS police force, even though \u201ca significant volume of contrabands continues to be detected\u201d, the report noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality of a correctional facility that houses impulsive young people with deep histories of trauma and violence is that staff and youth will unfortunately always be at some risk of harm. The fundamental question\u2026is whether ACS has taken reasonable steps to eliminate an unreasonable risk of harm,\u201d the monitoring team, led by monitor Steve Martin, wrote. \u201cACS has demonstrated its internal capacity to identify and address its problems and challenges without the need for external oversight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report, moreover, noted that ACS has \u201cmade essential improvements to practices\u201d beyond what was required under the settlement, which were \u201cequally important for protecting youth from harm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin has recommended all parties to the Nunez settlement file an agreement with a Southern District of New York judge by Dec. 7, stating that monitor oversight \u201cshall not apply\u2026 going forward\u201d, in accordance with the terms laid out in a court order this January<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But the Legal Aid Society, which represents the plaintiffs in the settlement, declined to say whether it will agree \u2014 and noted continued concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe court monitor\u2019s most recent report in Nunez v. City of New York does not address the extreme conditions our clients are experiencing in secure juvenile detention due to severe overcrowding \u2014 including the deprivation of education and other programming, the lack of designated sleeping spaces, and unhygienic conditions,\u201d spokesperson Redmond Haskins said in a statement Tuesday. \u201cNYC must immediately take steps to address these intolerable conditions and ensure the safety, dignity, and well-being of our clients in these facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, ACS commissioner Jess Dannhauser said in a statement that he is \u201cextremely pleased that in recognition of the efforts and outcomes we have achieved, [the monitoring team] have informed the Court that their monitoring assistance is no longer needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Crowded Lock-Up<\/p>\n

The population at Horizon has grown steadily \u2014 and at times exceeded capacity \u2014 in the last few years, in part due to a combination of \u201ctrends in youth offending,\u201d slow court processing times and increased gang prosecutions that have brought in an influx of youth, according to the report.<\/p>\n

While the facility is meant to hold 123 detainees, ACS has obtained and extended waivers from the state since 2023 to accommodate up to 154 teens as recently as the monitor\u2019s visit this July, when 33 young people slept on portable bunks in classrooms and dayrooms. (The facility houses 131 detainees as of Wednesday, according to the state Office of Children and Family Services<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\u201cACS reported that the sheer number of youth in the facility, the fact that many of them have preexisting, serious conflicts with their peers from the community, and the facility\u2019s challenging physical plant all contributed to slight increases in violence during the current monitoring period,\u201d which spanned from last July and June this year, the report read.<\/p>\n

The number of assaults among youths has increased to 0.73 incidents per day per detainee from 0.52 a year earlier, though it has overall decreased by 34% since ACS took over in 2021.<\/p>\n

To address overcrowding and \u201cthe increased risk of violence,\u201d ACS has begun construction of a $340 million expansion in July that will include 48 beds and new recreational spaces, according to the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Horizon Juvenile facility in The Bronx, Nov. 11, 2025. Credit: Alex Krales\/THE CITY<\/p>\n

That buildout won\u2019t be complete until 2029, however. ACS said it is currently building \u201cadditional temporary housing\u201d at its other youth detention facility in Brownsville, Brooklyn, \u201cto house youth on a shorter timeline than the housing planned at Horizon,\u201d according to agency spokesperson Marisa Kaufman.<\/p>\n

Absenteeism among staff also continues to be a challenge, leading\u00a0 workers who do report for duty to mandatory overtime shifts multiple times a week, according to the monitor. Some have shown signs of burnout and fatigue, and \u201ca number of incidents were exacerbated by staff whose frustration and\/or antagonistic demeanor led to their mistreatment of youth, and in some cases, led to their employment being terminated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haskin noted Legal Aid has continued to \u201creceive reports of serious injuries to our clients and egregious staff misconduct\u201d at Horizon.<\/p>\n

The monitor, meanwhile, noted that ACS has reformed its incident review system, which \u201cdemonstrated a consistent, internal ability and willingness to identify a range of poor practice and misconduct related to the use of physical intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n

If federal monitoring ends, oversight of ACS\u2019s youth detention facility including Horizon will default to the state Office of Children and Family Services.<\/p>\n

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