Families, attorneys and lawmakers slam ‘cruel’ Rikers visiting process

Families, attorneys and lawmakers slam ‘cruel’ Rikers visiting process

Attorneys and families of people incarcerated on Rikers Island blasted the Department of Correction on Wednesday for what they described as a cruel, degrading and potentially unconstitutional process for visiting people locked in the dangerous jail complex.

Read More

Advocates demand governor sign prison reforms into law

Advocates demand governor sign prison reforms into law

Advocates on Tuesday demanded the governor sign a package of bills meant to reform the state’s troubled prisons, a year after the killing of Robert Brooks put a spotlight on the worsening conditions behind bars.

Read More

Immigration judge withdraws from public defender leadership role amid staff backlash

Immigration judge withdraws from public defender leadership role amid staff backlash

One of the city’s top public defender organizations recently faced backlash from its union after an announced candidate for director of their immigration practice sparked outrage.

Read More

Locals rally as ICE’s presence in World’s Borough grows

Locals rally as ICE’s presence in World’s Borough grows

Queens locals and elected officials rallied in Western Queens over the weekend to protest the federal detention of a 6-year-old and his father as immigration agents were spotted in two separate Queens neighborhoods.

Read More

Rikers officer accused by multiple women of sex abuse fired after conviction

Rikers officer accused by multiple women of sex abuse fired after conviction

A Rikers Island correctional officer will be fired after being found guilty this week of sexually abusing a woman in his Queens home – a decision that comes years after he was first accused by multiple detained women of sexually abusing them while on the job.

Read More

No charges for officers in Rozario shooting, AG office says

No charges for officers in Rozario shooting, AG office says

Attorney General Letitia James’ office will not bring charges against the two NYPD officers who shot and killed Queens teenager Win Rozario in his family’s home last year while he was allegedly in the throes of a mental health crisis.

Read More

Feds’ dawn raid in Jackson Heights draws scrutiny from locals

Feds’ dawn raid in Jackson Heights draws scrutiny from locals

Heavily armed federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security were spotted in Jackson Heights on Thursday morning, and reportedly detained a woman who recently moved into the neighborhood before being berated by locals.

Read More