Mayor Says He's Right On Rikers, Focused Where "Real Dangers Exist"

Via Wikicommons

After Mayor Bloomberg announced that he would not be evacuating the prisoners at Rikers Island under the threat of then-Hurricane Irene, a backlash grew against the administration given the total shutdown of the MTA, mandatory evacuations of thousands of New Yorkers, and the horrific lessons of Katrina. "It is appalling that the City administration is abandoning the men and women at Rikers," Center for Constitutional Rights director Vince Warren said in a statement. CCR urged that the lives of the 12,000 prisoners on Rikers "should not be treated as less valuable than those of other New Yorkers."

However, the Mayor's Deputy Press Secretary Samantha Levine assured us that the city was taking every necessary precaution with the prison, and that Rikers Island did not lie in Zone A:

We carefully reviewed Rikers Island, as we have done with the entire city, and no section of Rikers Island facilities are in Zone A. Rikers Island facilities are not in low-lying areas, it’s not a costal location and, like nearby small islands Roosevelt Island and City Island, it does not need to be evacuated. We are focused on the areas where real dangers exist. A full Corrections Department staff will remain on Rikers Island and the facility is a fully self-sustaining entity, prepared to operate and care for inmates in extended emergency conditions.

We won't know how Rikers Island fared until the tropical storm leaves, but if Roosevelt Island is any indication, the prisoners may be just fine.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Christopher Robbins in News on August 28, 2011 1:00 PM

Comments [rss]

Mark F

It doesn't matter what their crime was--subjecting them to a hurricane flood is not part of their sentence. (In the case of Riker's, they haven't even had a trial yet, much less a sentence.) You evacuate them for the same reasons you keep them fed, keep a roof on their building, and keep the heat on in the winter. If the state has you in custody, they have a responsibility to see that you are not submerged, to say the least. If you fail to recognize this, you have a reptile-level brain obsessed with revenge and you aren't qualified to discuss the well being of others.
That said, it sounds like the data they had on the risk level was pretty good. But if this was a bigger storm you must evacuate.

Peter Lamariana

they didn't die did they?

don't let these ass holes fool you there is a lot of scum there

Sarah Pappalardo

This would actually be an issue if:
- it was at least a category 4 hurricane
- the prisoners lived in 1st floor shanties

Until then, let's pick our battles?

Sulayman

"it’s not a costal location"?
How does that make any sense? It's an island. Unless the whole complex is on a high cliff, it's an area at risk.

StephenM123

@facebook-509015246:disqus "I consider contributing members of society that don't break the law as more valuable than criminals living off the taxpayers' dime."So, they're expendable, eh? You realize that a lot of the people held at Rikers haven't actually been convicted of a crime? You realize that a lot of them are juveniles?

In your Facebook photo, your mouth is wide open. You might want to consider closing it.

groganz

Wow, some of you idiots would feel right at home in North Korea. First, Rikers is not a prison, it's a jail. The vast majority of Rikers inmates haven't had their day in court and cannot afford the kind of quality representation that would get them RORed like well-off people do. Second, it's called due process. Look it up sometime and pray you never in your life get locked up on faulty evidence.

claire

"12,000 prisoners on Rikers should not be treated as less valuable than those of other New Yorkers."Yes they should, they are criminals. They made a choice in their life that landed them in jail and therefore they don't have the same rights as everyone else period.

Mark Lyon

We have an obligation to protect and care for them if we want to lock them up.

Emmily_Litella

Um, go back to making babies or whatever you do to feel good about yourself contributing to society. And meanwhile, STIFLE!

bggb

Bloomberg is tying himself in knots trying to justify his crass political calculation. It was it is Bloomy, but don't lie about it.

Kimberley Truelove

I consider contributing members of society that don't break the law as more valuable than criminals living off the taxpayers' dime. Call me crazy.

Sulayman

Hey, they pay taxes too

mvmom108

Many of the Rikers inmates are pre-trial, which means they are still considered innocent. In addition, there are large numbers of juveniles and mentally ill prisoners. Do we really want to go down that slippery slope of discussing whose life is worth more/less?

AzzTech

I once toured Rikers and there's a whole wing of pre-trial juveniles who's parents didn't post their $50 bail.

SonnyBobiche

I liked the old days when convicted prisoners could be forgiven if they volunteered for important but suicidal missions.

Wesley Main

Crazy. Not every person in Rikers is a violent piece shit, in all actuality the majority are drug offenders. Crazy it is.

aspiringrapper

Disagree. They're still behind bars for a reason. A far lower priority than law abiding citizens.

Mark F

Yeah, law abiding citizens like Goldman Sachs should be top priority. People who are too poor to pay $300 bail deserve to die in a flood. (That's sarcasm in case you can't tell.)