Rikers Island No Longer 'Atrocious,' Electeds Say After Surprise Visit

NEW YORK CITY — A trio of top New York City elected officials paid Rikers Island a surprise visit Monday and walked away with what, for the troubled jail, is a positive review: no longer "atrocious."

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who gave the jail a surprise inspection with Comptroller Brad Lander and Council Member Carlina Rivera, acknowledged conditions had improved since he last visited in September when he called it a "humanitarian crisis."

On Monday, he said many of those "atrocious" conditions — overcrowding, overflowing toilets and more — were nowhere to be seen.

"Where we were in September, I don't know how we could have gotten any worse," he said. "So, it can probably only go up."

But Williams, Lander and Rivera said much still needed to be done at Rikers, especially since there have been 12 deaths so far this year at the facility.

"There are some concerns," Williams said.

The city's jail has long been synonymous with squalid and dangerous conditions. But they reached a full-blown crisis last year as staffing shortages and overcrowding compounded persistent problems.

Federal officials are eyeing a potential takeover of the jail if city officials don't deliver on promises to improve the facilities.

The trio of elected officials who made the surprise inspection Monday all demurred on whether a federal takeover would be a good idea.

Instead, they focused what Lander deemed "meaningful progress," as well as areas in need of improvement that they saw.

Access to medical help and medication appears to still be an issue at the jail, they said.