City Program Lets Mothers In Rikers Visit Family At UWS Museum

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A new city program allows mothers incarcerated at Rikers Island to visit their family at the Children's Museum of Manhattan on the Upper West Side, New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray announced this week.

The program, which hosted its first family visits on April 30, is part of a $6 million investment launched by the city to "break the cycle of incarceration for women in New York City," the mayor's office said in a press release. The initiative was launched in February and includes expanded family support programs, behavioral health services and re-entry services.

"To be emotionally healthy, children must bond with a parent and spend quality time with that parent. It is a necessity for their mental health and overall well-being," McCray said in a statement. "Time spent together outside of a jail environment, making art, dancing, and enjoying music will provide children with opportunities to express themselves and relieve the anxieties that so many families of incarcerated women experience."

The pilot program will bring mothers, children and the children's caregivers to the Upper West Side museum while it's closed to the public. The mothers and children will participate in arts activities that "support bonding and ease the trauma of separation," according to a press release.

Children's caregivers will also be given a free membership to the museum, located on West 83rd Street between Broadway and Amsterdam, which will be renewed and passed on to mothers upon their release.

"Children’s museums have a special role to play in the lives of all children." Andrew S. Ackerman, executive director of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, said in a statement. "We are honored to be able to offer these families, and all New York City’s families, opportunities for discovery and joy. Through arts programs, parents and children can actively explore together, express and share their feelings, or simply relax together in a safe, nurturing space."

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