There were some who assumed that when Mayor de Blasio on March 31 reversed his position against closing Rikers Island because it would be too difficult politically to get city neighborhoods to accept new or expanded jails to which inmates could be sent instead, he was merely trying to defuse a potential issue that could complicate what seemed an easy road to re-election.
But when the Department of Investigation on the last weekday of April issued a scathing report on Correction Commissioner Joe Ponte’s frequent absences from duty and rampant misuse of Correction Department vehicles by both himself and numerous subordinates, it presented an alternative explanation: maybe the Mayor had realized that the travails of Rikers Island were causing Mr. Ponte and his aides to take an inordinate number of mental-health days.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you have an active digital subscription, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password, if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
If you are a current print-only subscriber, and want access to our website,click here to view your options for changing you subscription level.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |