Photos: YouTube Screenshots
New York Public Advocate Jumaane Williams released the following statement blasting Mayor Eric Adams’ state of emergency order, regarding Rikers Island, as an attempt to circumvent a law limiting solitary confinement that was recently passed by the New York City council.
Williams said the following:
“This is a shameful tactic, another desperate abuse of power by this administration to try and ignore laws it opposes. Misusing a ‘state of emergency’ is dangerous, especially from a mayor who claims to care about public safety. Any state of emergency on Rikers continues to be caused by an administration that has refused to engage with partners to meaningfully improve conditions, with a preference for covering up the crisis and spreading misinformation.
“Now, the mayor wants to throw out yet another law of our city in order to maintain a status quo that threatens people on both sides of the bars. At the last possible moment, he is declaring an ‘emergency’ without public notification or legitimate justification. It is inexcusable, and we will explore all means of ensuring that this administration cannot continue to abandon its duty to execute the law the Council overwhelmingly approved twice.”
