Criminal Justice
Budget
Immigration budget deal within reach as lawmakers pass fourth extender
Budget negotiations are in full swing with no end in sight as the Legislature circles a deal to bar local police from working with ICE.
Criminal Justice
Robert Brooks’ father pushes for new office to probe prison deaths as counties push back
County coroners are fighting to retain jurisdiction over prison fatalities.
Criminal Justice
At Bellevue Hospital, Mamdani takes a step toward closing Rikers
The mayor touted the opening of a 104-bed therapeutic unit for incarcerated people to replace a Rikers Island infirmary.
Opinion
Opinion: To keep New York safe, Albany must protect victims and witnesses from ICE
Local law enforcement should never enforce civil immigration law or allow victims and witnesses to be turned into targets for ICE.
Rikers Island
With new leadership, advocates are daring to hope for change at Rikers
Mamdani’s Department of Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards and federal Remediation Manager Nicholas Deml will work side by side. Their task – fixing a notoriously dysfunctional jail system – is daunting.
Interviews & Profiles
Stanley Richards wants Rikers closed. In the meantime, he works there.
The new correction commissioner is committed to borough-based jails, ending solitary confinement and collaborating with federal supervisors.
Opinion
Opinion: Why NYC needs a Department of Community Safety
For decades, the city has defaulted to police, courts and incarceration to contain and supervise crises.
Immigration
Lawmakers want Hochul to use clemency power to protect immigrants
The Clemency Justice Act would make applying for executive clemency easier and more transparent.
Policy
Planned Parenthood: Hochul’s buffer zone bill may be unconstitutional
Reproductive health centers worry the proposal to restrict protests would violate New Yorkers’ First Amendment rights.
Opinion
Opinion: New York promised to invest in youth. It’s time to deliver.
The Youth Justice Innovation Fund would take $50 million of unspent Raise the Age funds and make them available to trusted community-based organizations.
Policy
Lawmakers want independent medical examiner’s office to investigate prison deaths
It’s unclear how much it would cost to create the new entity within the state Commission of Correction.
NYN Media
Vera Institute names Insha Rahman president
Rahman helped win bail reform in New York and now hopes to help the Mamdani administration create a Department of Community Safety.
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Opinion
Opinion: A Black History Month call to reform New York’s mental health courts
The Treatment Court Expansion Act will help dismantle the racist systems that historically criminalized behavioral health diagnoses in Black communities.
Criminal Justice
Legislature considering funding reforms for Raise the Age, not rollbacks
Tweaks could come to the 2017 law increasing meant to keep teens from getting criminally charged as adults.
Policy
NYPD’s Tisch seeks changes to protest perimeter bills
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin said she’s working with the NYPD to amend the bill.
New York State
Hochul proposes banning local cooperation with ICE
In a shift, Gov. Kathy Hochul has thrown her support behind ending 287(g) agreements, a key component of existing legislation immigrant advocates are pushing for
Rikers Island
Updated
A timeline on the closure of Rikers Island
Nicholas Deml will oversee New York City jails as remediation manager
Opinion
Opinion: Albany must update our evidence laws to protect taxpayers
It’s wasteful and antiquated to require live grand jury testimony to authenticate digital business records like Uber receipts.
Opinion
Opinion: A new low for the NYPD
The cop who killed Delrawn Small now claims he wasn’t acting as a cop to avoid discipline.
Opinion
Opinion: What’s next for Mamdani’s criminal justice agenda?
His decision to retain NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch signaled a degree of capitulation, but there are issues and decisions to come that will reveal Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s commitment to criminal justice reform.
