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From the New York Post: A federal judge seized control of New York City’s troubled jail system Tuesday — ordering that an outside official be brought in to clean up Rikers Island and other lockups.
The 77-page order by Manhattan federal Judge Laura Swain effectively appoints a federal receiver — a move long desired by advocates — to correct dangerous conditions in Rikers that city and Department of Correction officials have tried and failed to do under a decade-old court case known as Nunez.
Swain’s sweeping order gives the receiver — called an independent manager — full control over the city’s jail system in order to turn things around within a three-year period, with safety as the first goal.
The order comes months after Swain found the Big Apple to be in contempt of a 2015 court order and settlement agreement to drastically reform the violence-plagued system — a task that previously fell to a court-appointed monitor who spent years growing more and more frustrated with city and jail officials’ alleged stonewalling.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during a press conference Tuesday, “We’ve talked about Rikers over and over again. The problems on Rikers were decades in the making. If a federal judge made a determination that we did something they didn’t like, then we are going to follow the rules.”
Statement from @NYCComptroller Lander on Judge Laura Swain appointing an independent Rikers remediation manager. pic.twitter.com/Zs7oD00WEB
— Office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander (@NYCComptroller) May 13, 2025
🇺🇸 FEDERAL JUDGE TAKES OVER RIKERS — NYC OFFICIALLY BENCHED
After years of violence, chaos, and ignored warnings, a federal judge has officially taken control of New York City’s jail system — including the infamous Rikers Island.
Judge Laura Swain called conditions so bad they… pic.twitter.com/BGhbN7i01S
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexkennedyIran) May 13, 2025
Judge Laura Taylor Swain has issued her decision on appointing a receiver for Rikers Island pic.twitter.com/B7WAoou3DI
— Courtney Gross (@courtneycgross) May 13, 2025
In a decision Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain wrote that the independent receiver will “support remediation of the ongoing violations of the constitutional rights of people in custody in the New York City jails.”
Read more: https://t.co/03aMVzR5L5
— Spectrum News NY1 (@NY1) May 13, 2025
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