A few of our stories and columns are now in front of the paywall. We at The Chief-Leader remain committed to independent reporting on labor and civil service. It's been our mission since 1897. You can have a hand in ensuring that our reporting remains relevant in the decades to come. Consider supporting The Chief, which you can do for as little as $3.20 a month.
To the editor:
The Independent Rikers Commission is calling for the appointment of a "point person" at City Hall to focus on closing Rikers Island by 2027. This is deemed necessary because of a law passed by the City Council mandating the closure of penal island.
But two problems exist. First, the jails that are supposed to replace Rikers are not scheduled to be completed until 2029 (Brooklyn), 2031 (the Bronx) and 2032 (Queens and Manhattan).
Now even if by some miracle these jails were completed by 2027, they would only hold 4,500 prisoners. Rikers currently holds 6,800. Does the City Council propose just releasing the excess prisoners?
Meanwhile, the allegedly progressive Council refuses to pass a law that would guarantee that city retirees don't have their current health coverage replaced with a private, Medicare Advantage plan.
So are these allegedly progressive Democrats trying to compete with the Trump Administration in the stupidity and evil department?
Richard Warren
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here