closer to in particular the staffing and transition plan which is necessary for a smooth transition into the neighborhood facilities. I will also ask questions to understand how the newly appointed remediation manager impacts the budget on Riker's Island as it pertains to its day-to-day operations. Finally, we will spend some time discussing the board of corrections $4 million budget and looking into the resources needed to provide chartermandated oversight of the city's jail and to maintain minimum standards. Before we begin with testimony, I would like to thank council committee staff for their hard work in preparing this hearing. Casey Lysky, senior financial analyst. Lindseay Wheeler, finance fellow. Jack Story, assistant director. Jeremy Whiteitman, legislative counsel. Chad Benjamin, policy analyst, and of course, my staff, Julian Martin, my deputy chief of staff, Kiara Powell, my communications director, and Renee Taylor, my chief of staff. I will now ask the committee council to go over some procedural items and swear in the representatives from the department of probation. But first, I'd like to acknowledge that from the department, we are joined by Commissioner Sharon Goodwin, Antonio Palano, Robert Espio, Michael Caputo, Jason Torres, Wayne McKenzie, Zena Melendez, Joshua Young, Paul Richards, Raswan Mursa, Dr. Shamira Gambo, Andrew Gonzalez. If you could each play raise your right hands, do you affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth before this committee and respond honestly to council member questions? >> Noting that all witnesses answered affirmatively, you may begin your testimony. Good morning, Chair Brooks Powers, Finance Chair Lee, and members of the committee. I am Chiron Goodwin, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Probation. I am joined today by First Deputy Commissioner Robert Eusebio, general counsel Wayne McKenzie, deputy commissioner Joshua Young, acting deputy commissioner for juvenile operations Dr. Shamira Gambrell, Associate Commissioner Antonio Palano, Chief Information Officer Roswan Merza, and Director Paul Richards. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding the department's executive budget and our work to support public safety across New York City. At its core, probation believes people can change. As I stated before, accountability remains central, but it must be paired with support and intervention. That is how we reduce reoffending and help people succeed. Our responsibility is not just to monitor compliance. It is to reduce reoffending by changing behavior. And I want to be clear at the outset, probation is one of the city's most important tools for preventing crime and avoiding the fur greater cost of incarceration. Before I turn to the budget, I want to briefly speak to the direction we are setting at the department. My vision is to restore probation as a datadriven evidence-based agency that supports staff, strengthen accountability, and expands meaningful services for people we supervise. Since stepping into this role, we have taken immediate steps to strengthen the culture of this agency and better align our work with our mission. We have updated our uniform policy. Over the past few years, officers were required to wear uniforms. We are now shifting to a more flexible approach that allows for professional non-uniform presence to better engage with the clients and the community. We updated our firearms policy so it no longer a one-sizefitsall requirement. We are restructuring the training academy to get officers into the field faster. The economy the academy was approximately 5 and a half months and now will be three and a half months while maintaining all state requirements and we are actively rebuilding relationships with program providers to expand services for the people we supervise. At the same time, I have focused on people inside this agency. Over the first few weeks, my focus has been listening, learning, and engaging directly with staff to understand what they need to do this job effectively. We are advancing efforts. We are advancing wellness efforts, strengthening communication, and creating a more supportive environment for our workforce. Because if we expect better outcomes for our clients, we must support the people doing the work. This is the shift in how we approach probation. Accountability remains central again, but it must be paired with support, intervention, and a real path forward. This is how we reduce reoffending. That is how people succeed and that is how communities thrive. Turning to the budget, the department operates with an overall budget of approximately $116 million. That investment supports a system supervising approximately 11,833 individuals across all five burrows, including 10,681 adults and 1,152 young people. The needs of this po populations are significant. 44% of adults are employed. 12% have identified mental health needs. 6% are experienced homelessness. 91% of our youth are behind in school. These are not abstract numbers. These are the conditions that drive reaffending. And they are the reason why supervision alone is not enough. If we want safer communities, we must address employment, housing, behavioral health, and education. That is why programming and partnership are central to our strategy. At the same time, we are operating within within real constraints. The number of probation clients has increased significantly rising by roughly 5.5% over the last three years while the number of available offices have declined. That is the court's operational challenge we are managing. Today, the department has 255 vacancies, including approximate 210 in the probation officer title, representing about a 23% vacancy rate. Since fiscal year 2023, we have lost 405 probation officers and hired 235. What that means in simple terms is that we are supervising more people with fewer officers available to do the work. This is not because we are not hiring. Their recruitment environment for probation officers is increasingly competitive. With many law enforcement agencies offering higher compensation, this reality makes it more challenging to attract and retain qualified applicants. The challenge is structural. The high-end pipeline takes time while attrition has been moving faster than that pipeline can replace. That reality shows up in case loads. The average adult case load is currently 54 cases per officer in adult and the average juvenile case load is 25 per officer. The ideal case load depends on risk. Higher risk cases should be around 20 to 25 per officer. Moderate around 40 and lower risk can be higher. The goal is to focus resources where they have the greatest impact. Case loads are not just an operational issue. They are directly tied to outcomes. As case loads increase, the quality of supervision can be affected. officers may have less time to engage with clients, connect them to services, monitor progress, and respond to needs in a timely way. What when that happens, the risk of reaffending increases. From a budget perspective, the mad that matters, investing upfront in manageable case loads help prevent reaffending, which avoids significantly higher downstream costs to the city. That is why we are implementing a more focused riskbased supervision model. Approximately 43% of our clients are high-risisk and that group is responsible for nearly 60% of rearrest. At the same time, lower risk individuals make up a large portion of the case load but account for a much smaller share of reaffending. We cannot treat those groups the same. We are aligning resources so that offices time, attention, and programming are focused where they have the greatest impact. We are strengthening how we deliver and evaluate programs. First, ensuring individuals can access programs by removing barriers like transportation. Second, driving consistent attendance and engagement. Third, ensuring individuals are making progress while in the program. And finally, tracking outcomes, including whether they secure employment and sustain those results over time. We are using this approach to better align resources to the programs that deliver the strongest results. We are using data not just to track activity, but to ensure our work leads to real sustained outcomes. And we are seeing real results. Approximately 75% of adults on probation complete probation. Approximately 92% of juveniles complete probation. Adult rearrest declined and adult violent felony rearrest declined more significantly even as the population we served increased. That is important progress. At the same time, we are clear about where we must improve. Juvenile rearrest increased by 50%. That is unacceptable and we are responding with urgency by expanding targeted interventions and focusing resources on the highest risk youth. I also want to take a moment to acknowledge the outstanding work happening on the ground. We recently received feedback from a law enforcement partner who visited our Harlem Neon located location and spoke very highly of two of our probation officers, probation officer Lee and probation officer Green. She described them as exceptionally professional respectful and approachable. She noted that they are often meaningful guidance, connected individuals to vital resources, and consistently treated people with dignity and respect. And she said she wanted to make sure their work did not go unnoticed. That is the culture we are building and that is the work our officers are doing across this city every day. We are also continuing to rebuild and strengthen partnerships with providers, community organizations, elected officials, and other stakeholders because probation does not do this work alone. Finally, I want to make one broader point. Probation delivers value that is not always fully visible in our budget lines. When we stabilize individuals in the community, we are not just improving outcomes. We are preventing future system involvement and avoiding significantly higher costs to this city. This department plays a critical role in both public safety and fiscal responsibility. Our focus moving forward is clear. We are strengthening supervision. We are supporting our workforce. We are investing in what works. And we are building a probation system that is more focused, more accountable, and more effective. One that helps people thrive, strengthen communities, and de delivers real value for the city of New York. Thank you, and I welcome your questions. >> Thank you, Commissioner. Um, and just for the record, I just want to make sure that I reemphasize the need to have the testimony submitted at least 24 hours in advance of our hearing. Um, so just to get started, in the few months that you have been commissioner, what changes have you implemented in relation to the allocation of depart the department of probation's resources? And are there any areas where you have reduced funding? So um the changes I've made since uh being commissioner is one um ensuring that our agency is evidence-based practice that we allow data to inform our policies that um we looking at our policies such as our uniform policy which is being reimplemented um changing our firearms policy uh placing the um court lison offices back in the courts meeting with all of my stakeholders uh and my community- based organizations, judges just to make sure that um we are uh on the path of redesigning and making sure that probation delivers promise on our neighborhood opportunity networks programs. and uh really wanting to broaden and build out the neons. There were minimal changes included in the preliminary plan for the department of probation aside from the baseline cost of living adjustments. Were there any requests that you made to OM that were not reflected in this plan? >> Thank you for the question, council member. Um, no. Everything was uh documented and submitted to OM. >> I'm sorry, can you repeat? >> Everything was submitted to OM for our new needs. So, nothing else was excluded. >> So, the minimal changes, that's all that you all needed based on your assessment. >> Yes, that's correct. We have additional new needs that were submitted. Um, but what you said is absolutely correct. >> Thank you. At adoption, electronic monitoring capacity was increased by $5 million and of one-year funding to purchase 200 electronic monitors, increasing the city's monitoring capacity to 600 people at once. How has this funding impacted the department? Has your agency, for example, seen an increase in people who are released with an electronic monitor? Thank you for that question. Um, we have not seen an overall increase in individuals released with electronic monitoring. However, I do want to make a distinction. There was there is an internal pilot program for electronic monitoring and then there are other agencies uh such as the sheriff and other probation agencies, federal probation uh which do monitor our clients which are two totally separate issues. Um I believe you're referring to sort of a combination of both. Um as far as our pilot program um that is an internal enhancement to probation conditions that we've used for existing clients. So it wouldn't increase the number of clients since it's only used for um internal existing clients. That is a pilot that's reaching its end and we're in the process of assessing that to >> but considering it's expanding your capacity, wouldn't it increase the amount of people being able to utilize that function? >> Correct. There there is capacity. Yes. Um as far as our internal pilot, we're we're assessing kind of where what direction that's going. Um however, the overall city's capacity has not shown to change. meaning clients that come from court with monitors for a number of reasons has not changed in the last year or so which is separate from our internal pilot program. >> But broadly speaking for the agency has there been an overall increase in people who are released with an electronic moni monitor whichever way they're coming? >> No. >> No. >> Okay. Um also I'd like to acknowledge that we are joined by council members Salam Kaban and Feliz on Zoom. I'm going to shift to programming. How does the preliminary plan continue to place programming at the center of the Department of Probation's role in the city's criminal justice system? Thank you for that question. Uh programming remains uh at the top of our list. Uh we have currently we have programming that we may sunset. However, we also have programs that we're looking to implement moving forward. Um programming is very important to the commissioner. She has reached out to various community-based organizations, also to the youth coalition, and also internal discussions about where do we go next? And we want to make sure that newer programs uh are able to benefit those participants in probation as well as community. And we also I'm sorry. And we also are looking to have conversations with Columbia University Justice Lab um and looking at a more targeted program towards violent um youth and their arrest. Thank you for that. How much of the total budget is dedicated towards programming and should the amount be increased or decreased in fiscal 2027? >> I believe it's currently 18 million. And uh chair just one thing to add to that would u be we're looking to expand our programming. We definitely see you know approximately I think eight out of 10 of our probation clients who are engaged in programming no longer recidivate. Uh so we put in additional new needs and grant opportunities to expand those programs. So we're hoping to get additional funding u either through philanthropic organizations or federal grants to expand uh our existing programming network. Thank you. Um I'm going to just jump around a bit to be able to yield to my colleagues momentarily. I wanted to touch on the contracted providers. Um where does the department see a need for outside programming provided by nonprofits and how does the department plan to continue working with the nonprofits? >> Thank you for that question. Um, within my first few weeks, I've been meeting with the Youth Coalition. I've met, like I said, with Columbia University Justice Lab. I've met with Osborne, Fortune, over about 15 organizations to really um talk about our programming and our partnerships and talking about how we could better do a better job at New York City Department of Probation before a contract is about to end where we can all get into the room and talk about what's next and what we could do better or adding to our contracts that are already present and my focus right now based on what the data is telling us is our focus is going to be on the youth. So what contracts in the department is it excuse me is the department preparing to RFP over the coming fiscal year and also if you could provide an update on your contract with work plus. Thank you for that question. Um, pretty much all of the the juvenile programs that we have, um, we plan to continue. Uh, we currently have, uh, one-year renewals with all programs across all programming and which will give us an opportunity to begin writing RFPs. On the adult side, uh we also have one-year renewals for our neon works and our arches mentoring program. So, as of now, the only program that we're planning to sunset would be works plus. >> So, you're setting you you are definitely going to sunset works plus. What's the timeline on that? >> So, Works Plus, uh, it sunsets June 30th. Uh, the commissioner, as I stated before, the commissioner has met with the providers. She's also met with the youth council to let them know that we will be suns setting. And she also has discussed with them uh our plans moving forward. So, she wants to collaborate with the community- based organizations to figure out what works, which programs, what makes sense, and how we can benefit both community clients and probation. >> Can you explain why this program is being sunset? >> It's expired. The contract expired and that's why it's no longer um in place. However, um yes, he's right. I did speak with the providers about us looking at what we learned from the program and what we can add and then talking about getting together and um discussing what the RFP is going to look like with the added new features um to the contract. >> Now, Commissioner, has the department renewed some of the programs that were preparing the sunset? Yes, the programs on the juvenile side were suns setting as well, but we've renewed every single one. >> And then on the adult side are all of the ones that are sun setting not being renewed. So on the adult side out of the the active programs which would be works plus that is the only program that will expire. Uh the actual expiration date was June of 2025 >> and we extended for one additional year. So the new date of expiration would be June 30th 2026. >> What other workforce programs will replace this need? because being that this is as you said the only one on adult side that is suns setting how is the department filling that gap. So, first uh let me say that currently we have at least I think 350 youth nonprobation youth that are currently enrolled in works plus the majority of them are scheduled to complete the program and those that are not the remaining will be transitioned to programs uh in DYCD also So, our Neon Works work readiness program as well and resources within those community- based organizations. >> Um, okay, I'm going to pivot to staffing and overtime. I may come back to that one. Um, as of January, the department had a 23% vacancy rate, one of the highest in the city. What strategies have you considered to fill these vacant positions? Yeah, thank you for the question uh chair Brooks Powers. So that is correct. There is approximately a 23% vacancy rate that translates to about 250 probation officers um that we wish we had. Um and with that, you know, we we have uh absorbed that workload and so then consequence there has been um higher case loads associated with that. So, we've rededicated and provided an assessment right now that's ongoing um of how we could improve on our recruitment and retention efforts. These are two areas that I think are critical for us to address holistically internally. Then also working with our partners uh such as Dcasts. Uh we have over 200 uh universities that we're also working with to put out the message about our hiring. Um, I think it goes to uh the realities of why people aren't coming in the door fast enough and we're trying to figure out what those frisk first complaints are. Um, and then also um be able to uh keep our staff once we have them. So that gets into a retention issue as well. Um, and the commissioner's intent on working to improve our wellness and the well-being of our staff. So that's our current vacancy rate and our plan moving forward. And one of the things that um we are focusing on is um bringing forward our probation officer trainee because their requirements is a little different. They just have to have a college degree and then we give them the casework experience. Um so we've been doing a huge recruitment for um the probation officer trainee that are coming out of the universities and um thus far since our uh recruitment efforts about 526 have reply had applied um we in the process of actually interviewing um the pots. So far, we've done 80 interviews of qualified probation officer trainees. >> Thank you. Um, when is the next officer's exam scheduled for? >> Um, thank you for the question, chair. Uh, we have um the date of schedule, but we have 591 applicants so far for the upcoming exam. Um, the date So June 11th, >> June 11th. >> June 11th. >> June 11th. And the filing period is currently open. It's open. >> I'm sorry. I can talk into the microphone. >> The filing period is open until June 11. >> Okay. >> So, we actively engaging with the recruitment process as we speak. >> Thank you for that. I'm going to yield um to hear next from Council Member Morano, followed by Council Member Salam. Just ask everyone be respectful of the clock. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. You note the average adult case load is 54, while higher risk cases should be closer to 20 to 25. Can you tell us plainly, are we currently supervising too many high-risk individuals with too few officers? And what does that mean for public safety in neighborhoods around the city? >> Okay, I can answer that question. Thank you for the question. So currently we have a mixed case load model. So what that means is that both on the adult and juvenile side we use validated evidence-based assessment tools. So we assess every case and we give them a risk level. Um so on the adult side it would be high, medium, low etc. Currently that that mixed case load model means that one officer has all different risk levels. We are moving we're actually in the planning phases now um of moving towards an individual risk level model meaning each officer only gets a single risk level. So to answer your question about how many you know is it too many or too few officers um this this system will adjust for that when you have a single risk level you have less room for error right there's more consistency within the officer but then we can adjust the case load case loads individually high case loads will have fewer cases medium case loads will have a little bit more low will have a little bit more etc so this whole plan and and you know our officers have been working very very hard these last few weeks reassessing and re-engaging all these clients to to have clear doc clearly documented needs and we really commend that work um so that we can make this overall plan to shift these case loads and address exactly that issue. The >> the commissioner mentioned a 23% vacancy rate and that we've lost far more officers than uh we've hired. What specifically is driving officers to leave and what would it take in your view, commissioner, to actually stabilize the workforce? >> I believe that it's a competitive market out there. Um, we're competing with a lot of different criminal justice agencies and social work agencies. And so for how we're looking at it is maybe is giving them a better work life. Um um say it again. >> Balance. Thank you. Work life balance. And um and that means looking at their schedules, maybe making it more um uh competitive in terms of their wanting to come, you know, stay at probation, giving them um looking at their wellness and what we're doing. We just recently had uh staff appreciation breakfast where executive team um served them breakfast and we thank them for their service. Um so we're looking at even the case loads making the case loads more um favorable to them so they can do their work. Um, so we're trying to do a lot of different things within the agency to say, "Hey, uh, we can give you a better work life balance." >> The the thing that I found most troubling about your testimony, and I'm sure it's the aspect that you found most troubling, was the spike in juvenile reaffenders. Um you had said that juvenile re rearrests are up 50% which you rightly called unacceptable. What are we doing differently right now to reverse that trend and how quickly should New Yorkers expect to see some results? >> Thank you for the question. So with regard to the um spike in juvenile arrest, obviously that is not the direction that we want to go in. One thing that we do want to note is that over um since raise the age over 70% of our clientele and juvenile is over the age of 16. And so with that they bring different um types of offenses that come to us. Um so one of the things that um we are doing the commissioner wants to use credible messengers on the juvenile side. That was something that has been very effective in the past with that population 16 to 24 when they were on the side of adult operations. And so with regard to juvenile operations, the idea and the plan is to have a credible messenger assigned to each unit so that this way they can um work with our clients throughout their time on probation. Another thing is that the commissioner just recently attended a ribbon cutting at Lehman um for a new program that we have that is called light. And so what they're going to be doing is they're going to be supporting um youth with tutoring throughout education. Um they're going to show them a pathway to college if that's what they want to do perhaps vocational. They will have peer mentors that are college students. So we're trying to do things differently understanding that doing the same thing is not going to yield different results. >> One more if I may commissioner briefly. if you could be really. >> Yes. Yes. So, Commissioner, you emphasize that supervision alone isn't enough and that services matter, but where does one draw the line? How do we ensure that accountability doesn't get lost in a servicedriven model? >> One of the things that probation is and I and I love about this agency is that we wear two hats. We wear a law enforcement hat as well as a social work hat. and our focus more is on a social work side, but we balance it out with account accountability and um so it doesn't get lost. It it just it helps as a tool as a to strengthen what um the client needs. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we'll hear from Council Member Salam, followed by Council Member Kaban. Once again, asking everyone to respect the clock. Thank you uh chair and thank you commissioner question about the uh rearrest rates for youth. I wanted to know what the interventions what interventions are failing for our youth on probation and what additional resources or programming changes are needed given the fact that they have um gone from 2% to 3% 02% and 03% um between fiscal years 25 and 26. >> Thank you for the question. I think um what we're seeing right now is unfortunately an increase in some um gun violence. And so one of the things that the commissioner has discussed is trying to find the appropriate programming that would help us to combat that particular thing. And so credible messengers is one of the pathways to that. But we are open with talking with our community partners and the different providers just to really try to narrow in on that particular issue to see what would be the best model and what would be the best thing to keep our youth from getting further involved into the system >> and that is why we are talking with Columbia University Project Restore and really looking into partnering with them as well. they have a really good successful rate with their program um with dealing with violence and youth. >> Thank you. Uh continuing with the youth um in terms of youth at risk and the funding shifts, I wanted to know why this funding source shifted and how does this affect the programming services and stability um given that we um the preliminary plan reallocated 8 point one reallocated $18.8 8 million of atrisisk use funding from the city of non from the city to non- city sources while also uh enrolling 20% fewer DOP managed program participants. I mean well they're preparing for the answer actually let me just quickly I know this question has come in twice now so any decisions that we're making making as commissioner said in her testimony that we are leveraging data as the guiding principle for us so we have set up benchmarks and key performance indicators that we have so any decisions we are making either to sunset or add more resources to anything is based on the data so we're using data as an infrastructure like we have roads and utilities and all these other thing to guide us actually what decisions that needs to be made. So anything based on your question any decision we are making is datadriven decision making actually also uh funding any funding on a on a higher level uh any funding decrease doesn't affect the program specific budgets right on the ground level. So there hasn't been any change in terms of services uh with our programs as well. Uh if there's a fluctuation with enrollment that wouldn't have anything to do with say the uh funding aspect. Adult pre-sentencing investigations completed on time rates dropped for percentage points from 98.4% to 94.4%. 4% despite an increase in volume of uh 2,390 to 2,6001 PSIs. How are staffing shortages affecting the quality and timelines of these critical court documents and what resources would address this deadline? This this decline? Sorry about that. >> That is the core of the challenge. Everything you described there. So, this is actually a good example. um the quality is actually being maintained by our officers. In this example, the on-time you they're taking more time. So that is the trade-off. So in order to maintain the quality with fewer officers takes them longer and that's why our on-time delivery uh has has been reduced. Now we're working on bringing that back up. We have assigned some more officers actually recently in last few weeks um to investigations um for that reason. There is some training there is it is a somewhat of a specialized assignment. So, there's some time for that to be realized. Um, but this is the core of the the challenge that we're faced with and we're doing the best we can and our officers are are doing their best to prioritize quality over any other metric. >> Thank you. Thank you, chair. >> Thank you, Council Member Kaban. Also, we've been joined by Council Member Narcissis. >> Thank you, Chair. Uh, thank you all for being here. That's it. I'm done. Um, can can you just briefly I have I have I'm probably going to be do more in commenting than questioning, but briefly, what do you see as your mission and purpose as it pertains to young people uh under your supervision? >> It's to provide them with the best service, resources, and opportunity that we can. and um really um doing a one-sizefits one approach with how we supervise them. >> Yeah. And what and what's the what's the the purpose, right? Like what is the outcome that you're hoping for, right, when you're seeking the best programs and services? >> For me, for youth, my the best outcome for us is getting them to realize that they have something to live for, >> right? And I say that in terms of a lot of youth come to us not even realizing that they have tomorrow to live for and our job is to get them to realize that. So, my main focus is changing behavior and using all our resources in terms of credible messenger, using our nonprofits, using um my sister resources and other >> and I'm going to interject for a moment because I know you've spent time talking about that and I I agree with you and I I um >> you know I I want to hone in on what you said about sort of changing behavior and and having something to live for. To me, that means uh recognizing that you have options and opportunities. Right. Right. Uh, and I I want to thank my colleague, Council Member Morano, for his questions. I think they were thoughtful. Uh, and I I think it's interesting the the use and the choice of the word uh accountability because accountability and punishment are not synonymous. They have very different definitions. And your your mission, I think, incorporates accountability and not um and not the purpose of punishment. And just for for the record, uh the definition of accountability is an active voluntary process of taking responsibility, repairing harm, and changing behavior that focuses on growth and improvement. And conversely, the definition of punishment is passive, often forced experience focused on retribution, control, shame, and results in isolation rather than improvement. And so I think the latter is contrary to what your goals are in terms of people having something to live for and striving for something. and the former um is is really key here. And I I point that out because I just think some people think that like something happens and and and you need to be punished, but we want outcomes. We want changed behavior. We want transformation. So, what recommendations or what programs and interventions do you think promote accountability? uh and what recommendations for you do you have for diverting young people away from e even coming under your um supervision and an example I will give and share to start us off is SYP right we know that that it reduces youth arrest rates by 17% it reduces felony arrest rates by 23% uh and it I I mean these are those are hard concrete uh results so what kind of programs and interventions promote accountab ability and what recommendations do you have for diverting people from touching you in the first place? >> Okay, this is going to be a shared conversation. >> Let's do it >> with my counterparts. Um, first probation. We do have um cognitive behavioral intervention tools that we use with the um youth as well with the adults that addresses accountability and um them looking at their lives in their future. Um, so we do have tools in place called the carry guides and the behavioral intervention tools which is called bits. So, we do use them when they come to probation and they spend time with their probation officer or if an issue comes up about what they're going through, we pull out the carry guides and we pull out the tools to address help them address or look at what's going on in their lives so they can make better choices. In terms of diversion, I'm going to hand that over to Dr. Gamra. So just um >> and and again just to clarify, I'm hoping to hear about things that would that you think would help prevent people even from coming under your supervision that I'm talking about that that in terms of diversion. >> Okay. So I think that um that would probably be a collaborative effort with some of our sister agencies, right? Coming together because we all touch the same populations, right? So that means that we need to, you know, be step in step with DYCD. We do a big push for SYP, right, for our kids. We need to be step in step with New York City public school system, right? Just trying to figure out, okay, when you see certain behaviors, this might mean that this kid might be coming this way. And so these are some of the things that we need to do collaboratively. I think that, um, as a city, we can come together more collaboratively, pull our resources. Um, and I just want to add really quickly that one of the main tools that we have at probation is our staff. They're change agents. And so, you know, with Commissioner Goodwin here, we're moving forward to making sure that we provide them with retraining on motivational interviewing, stages of change, because these are the things that are really going to impact our youth. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you, chair. And also, Commissioner, I love your tie. >> Thank you. Um, we've also been joined by council member Brewer and we'll wrap up with questions with council member Narcissis. Good morning as a re-entry nurse. Thank you, chair, and thank you for being present with your leadership here. So, I'm so happy to see you and congratulation and I'm hoping to look for the best. Like we say, the best is yet to come. Um, I used to be a re-entry nurse and it always bothers me to see how we have our children in that revolving door all the time. So, what do you think? I mean, why do you think we have such a high rear arrest all the time? Can you prioritize the thing that you think is the most problem that we have with that our youth in New York City? I think that our youth has more than one um issue going on in their lives. They have they're dealing with multiple issues and um >> the top because I know we have a lot of problems. We all have a lot of problem. >> Exactly. So that's why you know as the commissioner I'm looking at um reinstituting how we look at our data and what is that data saying to us? how, you know, what are the top three um concerns that a youth is going through uh in order for us to really get to the heart of it. Um youth has they may have uh family issues going on. They may have a little bit of uh uh I don't want to even say mental health or emotional issues going on. And uh who knows, they can be going through um homelessness. So it could be a number of things that are keeping them coming through the door. And so they don't just come to us with one problem. They come to us with multiples. And so our job at probation is really looking at what that is and how do we target or um really tr you know help them get through all of the different stages that they're going through or issues. Do you think that probation structured for rehabilitation in New York City? I think we are structured if we uh really look at what works and if we really look at what the data is telling us, looking at um what is actually going on environmentally in our neighborhoods? Um what resources do we have? Are we actually really tapping into them? you know, so we have to really look and that's why it's important for me to get out and really uh collaborate with all my nonprofits and my organizations, my elected officials to really come together so we can have uh ensure that this young person has a continuity of services. they're not just going from one or um ACS to us and we're doing something different, but if we can get together and collaborate and make sure that they get a continuity of service and that we don't disrupt their lives and cause more harm. Continuity of service is so important because like I said, I used to be a re-entry nurse. I could hear the stories and some of the youth never had a chance in this world from the beginning. So, one more thing then I'm going to finish with that. Um, do the probation officers um have scheduled training on a regular basis to deal with our youth? Let's say to talk about what's going on because themselves the human being they have a lot going on. Do they have a structure to allow them to talk about what's going on in the field and how they can have someone to guide them too as well, how to best deal with those children because we have to deal with them. We have to understand what they're going through and sometimes it can be overwhelm officer because I have seen it because I talk to all when I'm doing re-entry program. So um at probation we have number of people that work with young people not just the probation officer but the parent coaches we have the credible messengers and we're also looking at doing more and for me our focus at probation will be the youth will be making sure that we are connecting them with credible messages because at this time that's not what we're doing and also Like I said, looking at what the data is telling us, um, where should we be intervening? Is it early on when they get probation or the latter part? I right now I'm in the middle of looking at that um, with my few weeks in, but that is a very con that's concerning for me as well. And I share exactly >> my time is over. But the reason I talk about the probation officers because that sometimes they go into work and they miss by one hour and they going to back in the revolving door for no reason. So they have to be sensitive to what's the situation. We cannot be just like one way not seeing and assess and see and be sensitive to what the young men or young women going through. That's what I'm Thank you, council member, >> and thank you, Commissioner, and to the full team here for your testimony today. We look forward to continuing the conversation throughout the budget season. Um, and again, thank you. This panel is now dismissed. >> Thank you very much. We'll take a two-minut break so that the Department of Correction can come up to the Yes. Good morning folks. Uh just a reminder folks just a reminder there is no eating or drinking inside the chambers. If you have any drinks or food please finish them outside in the rotunda. Also at this point please no one approach the deis. Thank you. folks. Please find seats. Please find seats. We're going to be starting up again. Again, there's no food or drink inside the chambers. If you have any, please finish it outside in the rotunda. All right, good morning. We're back in session. We are joined now by the Department of Correction and testifying today will be Commissioner Stanley Richards. He is joined by first deputy commissioner Margaret Egan, chief of department Sheranne Rembrandt, Charlton Lemon, Bureau Chief James Conroy, General Counsel, James Boyd, Deputy Commissioner, Strategic Operations. Faison Zubair, assistant commissioner with budget. Nell Colon, deputy commissioner programs. Kevin Dy with deputy. He's the deputy commissioner for facilities. Kathleen Zadzora, assistant commissioner. Alexandria Maldonado, assistant commissioner. I think I got everybody. Um, the council will swear everyone in. >> If you can each raise your right hands. Do you affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth before this committee and respond honestly to council member questions? >> I do. >> Noting all witnesses answered affirmatively, you may begin your testimony. Good morning, Chair Brooks Powers and members of the Committee on Criminal Justice. As noted, I am Stanley Richards, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Corrections, and I'm joined here by with um many of my colleagues. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the department's fiscal year 2027 preliminary budget and the work ahead of us to strengthen safety, stability, and accountability within our jail system. I come before you today not only as a commissioner but as someone who has spent decades working in and around the system as an advocate, as a practitioner, as a partner and now as a commissioner. I take this responsibility seriously and I approach it with both urgency and humility. I want to start with this simple truth. We have a lot of work ahead of us. As I stated when I met before the committee uh last month, transforming a system like ours is not like turning a speedboat. It is like turning a cruise ship. It is going to take time and sustained commitment. And I am committed to that work. And I can say confidently that the team I'm building is committed to that work as well. We share this council's goal of creating a system that is safe for staff and people in our care and holds people accountable while also creating pathways for change and growth. In this new role, my leadership philosophy is grounded in a simple idea. People first. The people of this agency and the people in our care ought to be seen, heard, supported, and engaged. Our staff are charged with caring for people with significant mental health, addiction, and other challenges every day. The people placed in our care are going through one of the most difficult times in their lives and they deserve opportunity as well as programs and services and an environment that will help transform will help them transform and succeed. It is incumbent on this agency to ensure that our staff and the people in our care go home to their people, to their communities, and be a resource to them. My mission as commissioner is grounded in several core priorities. First, safe and humane jails. Safety must be the foundation of everything we do. Without safety, we cannot accomplish what we strive to achieve. Safety must extend to everyone in the system, our correction officers, our non-uniform staff, and the people in our care. Second, strengthening partnerships. DOC cannot do this work alone. Real progress requires strong collaboration with all of our partners, including all city agencies, community providers, labor organizations, and this very body, the council. Real sustainable change only happens when we work together. Third, supporting responsible population reduction and strengthening the continuum of care. Sorry, strengthening the doc the continuum of care. Sorry, skipped the page. DOC does not control who enters our care, but we are committed to working closely with our partners in the criminal legal system to support policies and practices that safely reduce the jail population while also ensuring individuals are better prepared for when they return to their communities. Fourth, preparing the department for the future, including the burrow-based jails and modernization of our operations. These priorities are connected. When we support staff, we improve safety. When we improve safety, we can focus on rehabilitative programming. When we improve our ability to deliver programming and rehabilitation, we improve outcomes. And when outcomes improve, public safety improves. That is what putting people first looks like in practice and what we hope to achieve in the coming fiscal year. Let me speak candidly about where we are today. Our jail population has increased year-over-year for the past several years. In fiscal year 26, the average daily population was approximately 7,100 people, representing nearly a 10% increase compared to fiscal year 25 and a nearly 43% increase compared to fiscal year 21. We are seeing our facilities operate at 92% capacity, the highest level seen in more than a decade. These numbers matter because they create additional operational pressure across housing, staffing, service delivery every single day. I want to emphasize something important. DOC does not control who comes into our care or how long they remain. But we are working closely with our partners across the criminal legal system to support responsible population efforts including this body. This is just this is not just the DOC challenge. It is a systems challenge. A system challenges require shared solutions. At the same time, population pressures are increasing. The department continues to face significant staffing challenges. This issue is not unique to New York City. Law enforcement agencies across the country, especially in the correctional field, as noted earlier by the Commissioner of Probation, are all struggling with recruitment and retention. Today, DOC employs approximately 5600 uniform members of service, a roughly 20% net decline in average headcount since January 2022. And we know that additional retirements are coming. Over 800 uniform staff are currently retirement eligible, meaning they could walk out the door today and retire. 800. Another 235 will become eligible next calendar year and nearly 400 by the end of calendar year 2028. Those numbers tell a clear story. Despite what people may believe, DOC is not operating with excess staffing. We are managing an increasing population through growing staff staff attrition. And to meet this challenge, we are making significant investments in recruitment. We are expanding outreach to engage future officers and running academy classes to ensure that we are building a strong department that will serve them throughout their career. But recruitment alone cannot fully offset years of attrition overnight. That is why retention matters just as much as recruitment. If we want to retain staff, we must support staff. That means investing in wellness, strengthening professional development, and improving morale. Being a correction officer is incredibly demanding job physically, mentally, and emotionally. And if we want safe jails, we must ensure that the people responsible for maintaining that safety are whole and healthy. I also want to speak candidly about infrastructure challenges. The facilities on Riker's Island are aging and many critical systems are operating beyond their intended lif span. And that's why we must close Rikers. We just must. Infrastructure failures are not abstract risks. They are operational realities we must face and manage every day. The health of our infrastructure is connected, deeply connected to the health of our staff and the people in our care. At the end of the day, this is not about buildings. It is about people. Putting people first means investing in safety. Staff must be able to work in safe conditions and people in our care must be housed in safe and appropriate conditions until we can move to the burrowbased jails. We continue to make repairs, maintain systems, and address critical failures. But because our capital funding is largely tied to the burrow-based jail program, we often rely on expense funding to address urgent infrastructure needs. There is a real opportunity cost to that. When we use expense funding to address infrastructure needs, those are resources we cannot use for staffing support, programming expansion, or operational improvements. The first burrowbased jail facility is not expected to reach substantial completion until 2029. That means we must have honest conversations about how we maintain safe conditions on Riker's Island in the years ahead. While we are honest about the challenges, we are also focused on progress. We are excited to continue expanding partnerships that bring additional program and services into the jails. Importantly, these services were shaped by the feedback from the people who will use them, the individuals in our care. That process reflects our commitment to listening and improving how services are delivered. We are also focused on modernizing our technology and infrastructure. Modernization of this agency's work is not a luxury. It is a necessity. Outdated systems have limited efficiency and coordination for far too long. There are several new initiatives on the horizon that will improve operations, communication, data use, and service delivery. And we are thrilled to be moving into the 21st century. Critically, we also continue moving forward with the burrow-based jail transition. The department has a team of dedicated public servants who have worked for on this effort for years. Their work has positioned us to move into the next phase. The next phase we will move into. Construction is underway at multiple sites and planning and coordination of this city project continues in partnership with all of our sister agencies. This project is one of the most significant operational transitions in not just the department's history, but in the city's history, and we are all committed to getting it right. Before I close, I will briefly turn to the fiscal year 2027 preliminary budget. For fiscal year 2027, the Department of Correction budget is $1.4 billion. The vast majority of this 86% is allocated for personnel services. 14% for OTPS other than personnel services. The fiscal year 27 preliminary budget increased by 58 million compared to fiscal year 2026 budget of 1.34 billion. Some of the increases to the preliminary budget include funding for expense components of capitalally approved technology projects with 3.2 million allocated in fiscal year 26, 3.5 million in fiscal year 27, 4.4 million in fiscal year 28, 3.4 in fiscal year 29, and 2 million in fiscal year 30. laundry detergent, soap, cleaning supplies, and cleaning supplies for people in custody with 8 million baseline starting in fiscal year 26. The additional funding in supports increases increase needs for the department resulting from an increased population as well as increase in prices. civilian-based funding to civilian-based salary funding to close anticipate anticipated budgetary shortfall with 15 million in FY26 only and uniform and civilian overtime funding to close projected fiscal 26 budget budget shortfall of 18 million in civilian overtime and 150 million in uniform overtime. This fiscal year 26 budget and commitment uh to PLA commitment plan totals 14 billion which covers fiscal year 26 through 36 and that's the capital as of the FY26 preliminary budget. The majority of capital funding, as I noted earlier, is tied to the burrow-based jails program, which totals 13.9 billion over the 10-year plan and is allocated Brooklyn facility 2.3 million billion, Manhattan facility 4.1 billion, Bronx facility 3.1 billion, and the Queens facility at 4 billion. As we continue to work diligently to attract and retain both civilian and uniform staff, the department's total authorized headcount is 8,811, which includes 7,60 uniform positions and 1,751 civilian positions. Our actual uniform staffing levels remain well below our authorized headcount. And the department plans to use funding for recruitment and advertising to be aggressive with advertising and marketing strategies to promote recruitment. In conclusion, let me close where I began. This work is about people. It is about the officer who deserves to work in a safe environment. It is about the person in our care who deserves dignity and opportunity. It is about the communities we all serve. This is long hard work and there are no quick fixes. But it is well worth the effort. Progress is possible when we stay focused, when we work together, and when we keep people at the center of what we do. When we put people first, safety, dignity, humanity all follow. Putting people first means investing in them. People in my life put me first and invested in me. And it is what brought me here today before you. I am grateful for this opportunity and I look forward to discussing the department's budget, which is an investment the city makes in this agency and its mission. Thank you for your partnership and continued support. I look forward to answering any questions or comments you have. Thank you. >> Thank you, Commissioner. I'd like to acknowledge that we've been joined by Council Member Wrestler. Also just wanted to put on the record just reiterating the need to have the testimony at least 24 hours in advance of the hearing. So let's jump into it. Commissioner, under this new administration, are there plans to significantly change the budget proposal for the Department of Correction? And if so, can you share some of the ways you expect it will change when the executive budget is delivered? >> We've worked with OM. We submitted our preliminary budget with our new needs and what we need to stabilize the department now. So, as I stated in my testimony, the budget we're proposing is the 1.4 billion billion uh budget. Uh that will address the needs we have now and the planning for the future we need to do. And in the same line um of question, have you reviewed any of the board of correction reports published during the prior administration to see if any further changes and improvements can be made within the department? >> I haven't reviewed the previous board of corrections reports, but as a former board of correction member and vice chair, I value that work. I value their partnership. And what I am charging this department, my leadership team with is looking at the future. Take the lessons we've learned from the past, but build a path into the future that is centered on hope, dignity, and the humanity of the members of service, our officers, and the people who come into our care. And I'm very particular about language, and you hear me say it when I say people in our care. Just like our officers deserve to be safe and to be valued and to be heard, the people who are remanded to us are remanded to our care. And so we are going to have a plan for the future of this department, building off the experiences and concerns of our partners of the past. >> Thank you for that. In your testimony, you mentioned the department's goal of increasing safety for the staff and the persons in custody, as you just mentioned. Can you expand on your strategies for these new policies and how they'll be different from previous commissioners? >> Yes. You know, as I said to my leadership team, we can't punish our way into compliance. I think we have to start in a different way. And it's something similar to what the probation commissioner started with. We need to develop a system that when people come into our care, people have something that they want to hold on to. So, I'm sort of framing it as the way u former commissioner Sheraldi and I framed it. People coming into our system need to to start with an A. Uh that's one strategy. So, giving people something that they want to hold on to as opposed to punishing at the time of an infraction. The other thing we need to do is to make sure our staff feel valued and appreciated. So, we need to recruit to bring in officers so our officers don't have to do doubles. Uh thankfully, we're not doing triples. Uh and do the things that really communicate to our staff that this city, this body, this leadership team hears you, values you, and appreciates you. And I think when we do those things, we can take a system that has been traumatizing for those who work there and those who are in our care and turn that into a system of procedural fairness and justice, hope, and a bright future. >> Thank you for that. The preliminary plan includes a one-time $183 million in city funding for overtime adjustments and budgeting. Is there any plan in the works to adjust overtime spending in future years? >> In in the budget that is addressing the FY26 shortfall. I think the way we address adjust overtime is we have to recruit and retain staff and we have to reduce population. As I said, we don't control who comes in our system, but we can do the things necessary to provide people the support and services that when they leave us, they can be connected to services in their community and build a brighter future for themselves and their families. So that budget um request is to address the overtime for this year. >> Thank you, Commissioner. This plan includes a decreased cost of living technical adjustment baselining a reduction of $546,698 in fiscal 26 and 832,000 in the out years. Most city agencies have seen cost of living increases in this plan. Why is the Department of Corrections adjustment such a large decrease? >> I'm going to turn it over to AC Zaber who handles our finance to answer that uh question. >> Good morning. Faison Zaber, assistant commissioner of budget and finance. Uh this this was a cola adjustment uh related to uh human service contracts uh in our budget. uh we have to we have to review the data to to let you know exactly why that decrease happened. But this was a technical adjustment and we're working closely with our OMB partners to understand uh exactly why that is. But this is due to a decrease in human service uh contracts. >> Thank you for that and look forward to getting a response on that. In the preliminary mayor's management report under agencywide management, it is reported that payouts were only $48,676 in fiscal 23, then increase to $279,846 in fiscal year 24 and $234,849 in fiscal year 25. while workplace injuries and accidents involving persons in custody has decreased. What happened in fiscal year 24 to cause such a large increase in agency payouts? >> Thank you for that question, but I'm going to turn it over to GC Conway who can speak directly to that question. >> Good morning. Jim Conroy, the uh general counsel for the agency. Um my team works very closely and robustly with the law department on on assessing and dealing with litigation. What we learned when we looked at the data for those uh fiscal years was that there were significant in each of those fiscal years uh class action lawsuits that were settled and paid out during that time. Uh that would account for a a significant significant increase in the in the payouts for those periods. Um, we learned that the the class actions actually uh dealt with matters that occurred very early on, you know, in the in the early 2010s and were filed in 2017 and earlier. So, uh, one of the things that my team addresses is ensuring that the conditions that gave rise to those lawsuits are addressed and no longer exist. Um, but we do work closely with the law department in in assessing litigation and and the settlements. Thank you for that. Pivoting to the federal monitor. Um, US District Judge Laura Taylor Swan instructed the new remediation manager Nicholas Demo and the city to meet and submit an agreed upon plan within 21 days of this appointment. What logistics have been decided? So, um, I've met with Nick a couple of times. His official start date is on the 30th. Um, and I really look forward to working with him. Uh, I think he brings a wealth of experience. Um, him and I talked about our work together as a partnership. He reports to uh, Judge Swain and I report to the mayor. But our north star and our goal is the same. We want safe jails. We want our staff to be safe and we want the people in our care to be safe. And how we get there is through diversity of experiences and knowledge, bringing in expertise that we don't have and working collaboratively. So, we will be putting together a plan as ordered. Uh he has been in contact with Judge Swain. I'm not in contact with her, but I look forward to working with him. uh his chief of staff, Isaac, is here uh who uh is going to be part of the leadership team that's going to address the 18 contempt orders and the overall Nunes uh consent decree. >> And will will demo be located physically on the island as well >> with his team? >> Yes. Him and I both agreed you cannot do this work from Boulevard or from a office in the building outside of Rikers. You need to be on the Allen. You need to be in the facilities. You need to be present. Part of what we need to do is listen and engage our staff to understand what they've been going through and how we can improve those conditions. We need to be talking with the people in our care. We need to be talking with providers. So, uh, the answer to that question directly is yes. Him and his team has a trailer on the island that they will be working out of. >> What changes have been made by the department since the appointment of the remediation manager, if any at all? >> I think what we've done, uh, what I've done is build out my team. Um, and that is continuing. And what Nick has been doing is building out his team. what we've been having conversations about about the drivers of safety and the bottom line to safety is making sure population reduction happens and making sure we have adequate staff uh to ensure the safety of our members of service and the uh people in our care. >> And have you had any conversations about the department's budget capital and expense with the remediation manager? I think he he we tooured uh he understands the showed him the doors. Yes, he knows about the doors and we showed him the infrastructure. The the reality of it is everything on that Allen is really old. Uh I think the oldest building we have is closed is HDMJC. That building is closed. The next oldest was built in 1930. Most of the systems are beyond their useful life. And so we've been managing infrastructure on a crisis basis. And the way I look at it is the infrastructure really creates health and safety issues. >> Uh two hours into my first day, we had a water man break, steam break, uh where our FMRD team had to engage the FDNY to come and pump water out of our steam tunnel. It took out two buildings, the hot water for two buildings. When something like that happens, people in our care get angry and frustrated. They don't understand that the infrastructure is old and that they can't get hot water. Who gets the blunt of it? The A officer, the officers who's in those housing areas, the officers who have to escort, the officers in the housing area, the B officers. And so all of this infrastructure is really around health and safety and how do we maintain a facility until we can get off the island and build a barrel-based jails where we could really use design and facility to center the humanity of those in our care and those on our staff. And I do want to spend some time on the infrastructure piece, but before I I pivot in terms of the plan of action from your perspective, have you begin to begun to lay out a strategy to reduce the different um components that fall under the remediation manager so that you can retain that authority. But we haven't talked specifically about what the structure would look like, but Nick and I are both clear. He reports to Judge Swain and I report to Mayor Mumdani. Uh, and both of our charges are to create safety. his by addressing the 18 consent degree, me by the charge of the mayor uh to deliver safety, humanity, and dignity for those who work there and those who are uh in our care. And I get the the reporting um verticals, but just wanting to understand like is there any strategy on the administration side on how do you begin to regain the authority out of those 18 points because as the department begins to do better in those categories, you get to get that authority back >> that that is specifically outlined in the order that Judge Swain issued. So that um once the work starts and once the remediation manager makes determinations along with the monitor that there's improvements in certain areas and we start to come into compliance with those specific provisions over which he has um you know authority. The idea and the direction from Judge Swain is to transition those areas back into the >> I'm sorry that part I get. But what I'm asking is is there any plan of action to be able to start to knock those out one by one to get that authority back >> once the remediation manager is fully onboarded. Um they're required to submit a 90-day action plan that will work. >> So it'll be in that. >> Yes. In collaboration with the department to get there. >> Thank you. and pivoting to um the capital and infrastructure piece where I think the commission I in to in full alignment on. Um we are aware that the department of corrections often uses expense funding to provide infrastructure improvements to the facilities. Can you provide a list of projects that have been completed using expense funding? >> Yes, I would turn to two people. Uh, one is our deputy commissioner of our facilities maintenance and repair division, uh, DC Doherty and our AC of finance. Good morning. Um, since 2022, uh, there's a significant amount of funding that was taken out of the budget because of capital eligibility concerns. Thus far, uh, just in this fiscal year, we've spent additional funding on just, um, uh, perimeter fencing projects and other safety and security projects. Uh, DC Dhy has a much more storied understanding of of what that might be. >> Good morning, Deputy Commissioner Kevin Dhy, Facilities Maintenance Repair Division. for, as the commissioner spoke to, uh, we've had to do emergency repairs for not just the steam tunnel, uh, steam tunnel remediation, uh, which we had to replace or repair, uh, segments of the steam line that supply several buildings, meaning GRVC, RMSSE, uh, and RNDC. Uh additional on top of that, we've had to do repairs, emergency repairs to for uh generators. Uh we had a power outage in uh late this year due to uh salt remediation. Then we had to acquire emergency generators and to bring the island back online. and uh doors. Since 2019, we've been installing doors on a uh on a regular basis. Um since 2019, the Department of Correction has been funding door replacements um throughout the facilities. In the fiscical year 23 preliminary budget, $12 million was transferred within the department for a cell door emergency. In the fisc year 23 adopted plan, 15 million was added in fiscal year 23 and 10 million in fiscal year 24 for cell door upgrades. Additionally, the the Department of Design and Construction budget in fiscal year 23 included $10 million for a cell door project. Can you confirm that all of the cell doors are now work in working order with doors that lock and stay locked or are additional funds needed? >> Uh just a quick uh clarifying point, since 2019, we were using capital funding for to repair doors. uh since they became capitalally ineligible, we were we then had to shift to expense. Um so now we're using expense funding to uh cover our door replacements. Um as far as the installations of the doors, uh so the door in 23 and 24 were directly uh for R&D location and those doors have been installed 100%. uh and they all function correctly. Um for all locations that we have installed since then uh a lot in uh we uh OBCC we have installed for the SMU unit a lot in uh uh RMSC every location that we have installed these has been a positive not just for the staff but also the population. Uh, we have not had issues with the converted doors. >> Um, but I'm taking from what you're saying or how you're saying it that there are some doors that still require attention. >> Yes. Yes, there's we >> so additional funds would be needed for those doors. >> Yes. I think the total, and correct me, I think the total number of doors throughout the department that need to be upgraded is about 2100. We've done about 30%. >> Yeah. So, the uh the total count on the doors left to be fully converted for the entire island is 2,889 doors. Uh at to date, we have installed 1,439 doors. That roughly gives us a percentage of completion of 33%. >> Is additional funds required for the doors? >> We have right now we have additional funding in the expense budget to do 114 doors. >> 141 >> 141 doors a year. So it would take us 10 years, 12 years to replace all the doors. >> And have you been able to fund any capital projects through Dcast? Yes. Uh usually um anything that is non-facility based right we can we can use capital funding to to uh for repair and repair replacement in kind. Uh there have been projects that Dcast has cod code certified that they will use um at least 5 years after the asset has been completed. So yes, there are some projects that we have we have >> and those projects just those projects are usually IT related projects not the infrastructure like the doors. >> Uh no uh usually uh usually those projects have to do with infrastructure like island infrastructure and remediation projects that are capital eligible. Uh DAS does not need to certify like IT IT projects. Yeah. How much funding is needed to repair all the remaining doors in this upcoming fiscal year? >> We could get back to you on that. Um, and point of clarification, why can't Dcast co-certify the IT projects? >> It's not that it's not that they can't, they they don't need to because the IT projects are going to be used once the facilities are online. They'll be used by the department. They will not be used by DAS. Dcast can only co co-certify what they what will be left behind. >> In fiscal in the fiscal 2026 preliminary plan, the Department of Correction received a $2.5 million increase for cell door replacements at GRVC and Rush. Has that project been completed >> by the closure of fiscal year 26? Yes, the GRVC location as well as uh the other location will be completed. So for the $2.5 million, we are able to procure 141 doors door uh systems. >> Thank you. Um I next want to turn to the burrowbased jails. There were minimal changes in the capital commitment plan for the new jail facilities. Does this indicate that the facilities are on track to meet the deadlines that have been reported by the administration? >> This administration and the department is committed uh to the buroughbased jail system and closing Rikers. We are in constant communication with city hall and law uh about this project. >> Is there a plan to reduce the budgeted headcount for officers once the population is lowered and the burrow-based jails are open? >> We have not engaged in that conversation. Right now the focus is preparing the department for the future which means focusing on safety. uh we have our approved headcount. We know how many people can retire. So, we're really focusing on recruitment and working with our partners on population reduction in preparation for the burrow-based jails. >> Local law 140 of 2025 requires the Department of Correction to appoint a person dedicated full-time to closing Rikers and transition into burrow-based jails. As of March 13th, the department issued a job posting for this coordinator position. Is that person dedicated full-time now? Excuse me. Is that person in place now? >> Hi, Margaret Egan, first deputy commissioner. Um, that we're still going through that hiring process. Um, so we will bring on an executive director for the burrowbased jail plan. that person will be solely dedicated to moving this project forward and moving this forward in light of the values that the commissioner outlined um and in partnership with you with city hall with our provider partners um as the commissioner said in light of this being a citywide project and not just a DOC project. >> Thank you for that. And um do you expect do you know when to expect the appointment of this person? >> Our hope would be I think in the in the next month or so. >> Okay. And this same local law I'm talking about also requires that the department by May 1st, 2026 present a report to the council with recommendations for any reforms relating to staff recruitment, development, retention, safety, and security within jails and department operations and organizational culture to improve conditions for department staff and those who are in custody. Is the department on pace to provide that report by May 1st? >> I believe we are on on pace to provide that report. Um what I would say is that will then be an ongoing process again in order to um develop sustainable plans to to make sure that that the department and the bureau based jails live into the long-term sustainable values that we are all outlining. That report is just a first step. And has the department transferred any land parcels over to Dcast per local law 16 of 2021 in the last year? >> 12? >> No, we have not uh transferred any land as of yet, but that's something we're going to be discussing with city hall on next steps. >> Has the department been in communication with the Riker's Island Advisory Committee? Yes, we have participated in recent meetings with the Riker's Island Advisory Committee. >> And have they been able to tour the land parcels on the island? >> Yes, I recall they uh tore the island twice in the last couple years. >> Thank you. I'm going to come back with questions, but I'm going to pause to allow my colleagues to ask. We've also been joined with U. Finance Chair Lee. Um and we will start with her with questions and then we'll go to Council Member Kaban. >> Hi, I will be very quick. Hello. Good to see you, Commissioner. Uh, last time I saw you was in a different role, but it's great to see you here. Um, so really, really quickly, uh, just going into, uh, who, uh, at DOC was appointed as the chief savings officer. Okay, perfect. Um, and so I know the reports were due last Friday, so we're looking forward to seeing those. Um, and were there any areas, if you can share at all, um, of underspending at doc and what effects would reductions have on the agency and what areas and services would be most, um, affected? Uh we those uh savings uh proposal are still being assessed by both OM and city hall. But uh the areas that that we really focused on were cost deferrals uh insourcing wherever possible, contractual efficiencies where we could find them, any sorts of vendor negotiations if applicable and very targeted uh cancellations. But one thing that we made very clear is that we did not want to cut costs at the expense of the safety and security of not just individuals in our care and custody but also our our uniform members of service. >> Totally agreed. Um because that's one thing that on the council side we definitely don't want to see as well as the sacrifice in the services. So thank you for that. Um and then the number of contracts I see here remain flat. There were some slight increases in contractual services. I'm guessing uh is that due mostly to um increase in costs or if you could speak to that a little bit. >> Predominantly yes. It was uh due to like increases in costs and and as we mentioned earlier um for the the not just the safety but also ensuring that the island is safe and the conditions are on the island are in state of good repair. So it's mostly uh facility maintenance and and repair. >> Okay. Yeah. because the maintenance and repair went up quite a bit and contractual went up slightly. So, okay. And then um in terms of the vacancy rate for headcount, I know that in January, as of January, it was about 11%. And so, how has that been going? Are you still subject for the two for one? And do you anticipate I know you were speaking about it a little bit as I as I walked in. So, just wondering if you could go into that a little. >> When you say vacancy rate at 11%, I'm guessing you mean civilian vacancy rate. >> Uh >> uh for the headcount. >> For the headcount. >> Yeah. The so the civilian vacancy rate is has been approximately 12 and it's been >> okay >> it's been steady for the last uh two or three years but the departmentwide vacancy rate as is um is 18% overall >> eight okay so the the full-time positions that are budgeted the 1 1746 which is that including both >> 1,700 and about 1,700 No that's just um uh civilians. >> Okay, just civilians. Okay, perfect. Thank you for clarifying that. And then um has the DOC applied for the comprollers directive 10 waiver for any capital projects in the last year? >> So I mean I alluded to this earlier, right? Directive 10 waivers are only required in the case that DAS cannot certify a project, right? So, uh, as of last fiscal year, the only project that applied was one, uh, perimeter fencing project. It was for security and safety. Uh, this is not something that, uh, Dcast certified. Therefore, we reached out to, uh, the controllers's office to obtain a waiver. That waiver was denied. >> It was what? >> It was denied. >> Oh, okay. Uh, did they have a reason? >> Uh, they said they they do not I mean, they don't wave directive 10 requirements. That is >> Okay. So, um, that was one of the costs that was deferred over to the expense budget instead. >> Got it. Okay. Um, and then I see in terms of new needs, it went down significantly. So, in FY26, 187 and then in FY27, it's only 4.3. Um, is it because you haven't included some of the funds that are going to be added at adoption or what's the reasoning for the decrease? >> I'm sorry. Uh can you clarify where what numbers you're looking at when you say specifically? >> Yeah. Yeah. In the preliminary plan changes for new needs in FY26 it was 187 million and then in FY27 it's at 4.3 which is a pretty significant drop. So I was just wondering um because I'm assuming that does not mean that you have everything you need. So >> well we work very closely with our OM partners to ensure that we receive the the that our needs are met. Um and obviously they have a very difficult job of of balancing the city's budget. So although we are in communications like um sometimes needs are deferred to to you know this is just the first plan cycle and and in subsequent plan cycles those needs will be re reassessed and and readressed. >> Right. So I guess my question is do we see are we going to see an increase in that in the exec and adoption? >> We're still we're still assessing we can't >> Okay. Yeah. >> Okay. Perfect. Thank you. Thank you chair. Thank you, chair. Next, we'll have Council Member Combine, followed by Council Member Narcissis. >> Thank you. Thanks for being here today. Um, want to start off with some numbers. How many uniform officers are currently included in DOC's preliminary budget? >> Uh, approximately 5,600. >> Okay. And of those, how many officers are assigned to posts in housing units versus posts that require little or no contact with the incarcerated population? >> I would ask the chief of the department to um answer that. >> Good morning, Sher. Remember, chief of department, can you please uh repeat the question please? >> Yes. How many officers are assigned to posts in housing units versus how many officers are assigned to posts that require little to no contact with the incarcerated population? >> Well, that's a kind of like a difficult question and I tell you why it is is because we uh calculated as a staff that's a needy per facility per area. So on an average every day we would need we have 2 to 900 posts. Mhm. >> So on that on that post, we would need approximately on and about 3,800 members of service per day, >> right? But but at the breakdowns of the post, right? Like some people are posted in the bubble, some people are posted directly on the floor in a in a housing unit, some people are posted elsewhere. So, I just want the breakdown of like who's posted in a a a housing unit versus who is posted um in a different kind of position that doesn't require uh much contact with the incarcerated population. >> So, 3,800 people plus are are inside our facilities which includes our court system as well as a hospital prison war in our facilities. Outside of that, I have to give you the count for the headquarters count, and I do not have that headquarters. >> So, could you follow up with a breakdown um of that? That would be great. And then how many officers are working on therapeutic and re-entry programming for incarcerated folks? And how many civilians are working on therapeutic and re-entry programming for incarcerated folks? >> DC Cologne can give you the programming. >> Thank you. Hello. So, the division of programs has about 220 active non-uniform staff members that are um providing programs and services to people in custody. We have 30 officers approximately that are assigned to quote unquote headquarters programs, but what that means is that they support programs like educational services, horicultural services. So, they're actually in um they're they're working directly with people who are in custody and in our care. They're not just sitting somewhere else not working with people on custody. They're just in specialized um units that aren't necessarily assigned to the literal jails. Now, within the jails, there's about 117 uniformed members of service who are assigned to provide services like escorting people in custody to a chapel or to a mosque for religious services or who are on a post like law library um who are providing notary services and also working directly with our legal coordinators in our law libraries. >> Okay. So you include um folks who are doing moving people from one area to another as as being a uniform officer that's working on the the programming. Is there a way to separate that out? And basically what I'm interested in is like the the active provision of the service or program. Um how many are uniform folks providing that with the person, not moving them from place to place. Uh and how many are civilians? And I you answered the civilian questions, but I'm curious if we can get a little bit more granular with the uniformed number. >> Yeah, you know, it it's a little hard to say and I'll I'll say it this way. I would um I think we can foundationally say that the 30 officers who are assigned to directly my purview are absolutely supporting um the rehabilitative services and programs with people in custody. uh the 117 I would have to come back and break down because it does get it gets um that's where it gets complicated because I would say like one of our law library officers they are providing notary services to people in custody. They are working with people in custody directly um to help them navigate the kiosks alongside our legal coordinators but they are also escorting. >> Got it. Thank you. Um, can Oh, how many officers and civilians are assigned to facilities that are not currently housing any incarcerated people? I'm assuming that's back this way. >> One moment, please. >> Sure. Are you referring to AMKC that is only deal with >> I'm referring to any facility. So AMKC or otherwise where they there currently are not incarcerated people housed. So I want to know how many uniformed officers there are in those facilities and how many civilians are um assigned to those facilities. And then I'd like to know why are staff being assigned to those facilities period? Like what's happening there? Well, AMC have a roughly of 50 people assigned, uniform people assigned and that is our production kitchen AMKC. Then you have CD um that's correction of injury vision and the lot signed on about seven people including a captain that deals with our uh sheets and blankets and and other uh linen that is required for that our people in custody to have. >> Anybody else? >> Hey, I'm sorry. Do we have the answer for the council member? No, she's she's answering the question. >> Okay. >> I'm just wondering if there So, you said the the kitchen staff for food production uh and laundry services. Are is anybody else uh working in those those facilities where people aren't being housed? >> Yes. Then you have our correction correction intelligence bureau will house will have approximately on about 40 people assigned there. They do our correction intelligence bureau. They give us information concerning um our persons in custody and they work with our person in custody, but there's no person in custody inside the office with them. >> Got it. Thank you. Thank you, chair. >> Thank you. Next, we'll hear from Council Member Narcissis, followed by Council Member Wrestler. >> Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Commissioner, and thank you for coming with all your leadership to help us out. And I realize that you have a bold vision for our Rikers and making sure that people are in rehabilitation and have a chance to go back to life and um that is very pleasing to my ears. Being a re-entry nurse, I'm going to go to my youth. How is the department addressing the needs of the youngest and oldest people in custody? The needs of 18 to 25 years old are very different from the needs of the those 60s and up. What type of accommodation is providing for them and what training is provided to officers to address the needs of older adults and recognize sign of aging dementia limitation on activities and a daily living leaving living. Well, thank you for your question and and thank you for your service. Uh I would ask DC Cologne to respond to that question. >> Thank you uh again, Nell Cologne. Um so for I'm going to start with working with our youngest folks who are in custody, which are 18 to 21, our emerging adult population. And we have a variety of strategies that do support the emerging adult population. And we also have training specifically dedicated to working with um an emerging adult population in our correctional custody. And that training is actually something that was developed in collaboration with the Nuno's monitoring team and is deployed specifically associated with our action plan for the emerging adult population. really discussing uh what it means for social development, what it means for cognitive development, where somebody might be um if they've experienced trauma and they're a young person and they're in our custody. And so that training series is really to support um officers and non-uniform staff with working with young people. Um with that though, some of our strategies include ensuring that they have access to school. It also ensures that people have access to a variety of different vocational programs, both certificates and certifications. It ensures that people have access to counseling and softskll programs, and that they're working with nonprofit providers, not just DOC internal staff that specialize in supporting a an emerging adult population. Now, when it moves on to our elder population and our custody, and I use that word elder um because some may not even coin uh some of the people as elder who we kind of categorize into this um into this group, but with our elder population, we do partner with the Osborne Association. So, they have what's called the elder um re-entry initiative and they have staff who specifically come um and work in some of our cohorted housing units that do happen to house most of our people who are 55 plus um so that's why I use elder is a is a loose term um in that sense but that uh they are providing them with targeted re-entry support um including social services and referrals for when they leave and go back to the community housing referrals referrals as well and then they're providing them with a variety of different groups and programs that are specific to what their needs are. Um that being said, uh as for training for uniform staff on working with people who are um 55 plus or how we've cohorted them, we currently do not have uh that I am aware of a training under the branch of the division of programs or that we're supporting with the Osborne Association, but we will take that feedback and look into it. Thank you. >> Thank you. I appreciate that. Um, New York City DOC remains under the federal nunness consent um, decree stemming from findings of excessive and and unconstitutional use of force in city jails. The most recent monitor report in January 2026 highlights persistent compliance challenges, including gaps in accountability, supervision, and the department's ability to proactively identify high-risisk staff behavior. The report also flags the need for stronger early intervention um capabilities and improve use of data to drive reform. What specific investment in FY26 are directly tied to a I mean to achieving compliance under the Nunes consent decree and has the department evaluated the use of predictive early intervention or analytics tools to support those outcomes. Two, why does the current capital plan in include minimal investment in data systems and early intervention technology despite ongoing compliance challenges? And is the department considering proving solutions used in order consent decree jurisdictions? >> Thank you. Thank you for that question. I I'll start it uh start the response and then turn it over to GC Conway. >> Okay. this administration, the mayor and this new uh leadership team is absolutely focused on the safety of our jails, the safety of our staff, and the safety of the people in our care. What we've had for decades is a system where hurt people hurt people. It is a system that has perpetuated the trauma of our staff and is this a system that has perpetuated a trauma of the people in our care. And my charge and my focus is making sure that we create a system that supports those members of service who work in the department and the people in our care. And there's a number of strategies that we'll be laying out uh to do that. Uh using data is one. Making sure we're training and supporting staff. making sure that people in our care have something to hold on to instead of something to, you know, that uh sort of uh increases the likelihood of fights. Uh so there's a number of things that we're doing and my first deputy commissioner and I and this leadership team is going to be focusing on the things necessary not only to come into compliance with Nunes. That's the legal agreement we have. We can do better than that and we will do better than that. I'll turn it over to GC Conway to talk more specifically. >> I I think the commissioner answered pretty robustly there, but I would also add that we do have ongoing and and consistent conversations with the monitor about implementing such things. One of the things that um they have been very um consistent on is the is the more robust use of an early intervention system. I've discussed that with the commissioner though I wouldn't say at at the moment we we have contemplated or looked into technology in the sense that you did but it's certainly something that we would we would consider and look into though um I think we've had some recent restructuring and I I think we'll continue to look into what we contemplate for the early intervention. I do think um when you asked about other jurisdiction and consent agrees, you know, the um the onboarding of the remediation manager presents a unique opportunity here because you not only have the monitor but now the remediation manager and the commissioner. So you're talking about kind of a you know at least two new um entities into the system to bring new ideas and and more robust uh thoughts into you know what we could implement and how we will do so. So, I anticipate um you know you'll see some changes by the end of the this next year. >> Don't forget the staffing because um they complain a lot about the hours and I'm so happy you said you're not going to work on that and I appreciate your bold visions. Thank you chair and thank you. >> Thank you. Um next we'll hear from council member Brewer followed by council member Morano. >> Thank you very much. I heard that the women at Rosies had a great time with you and were very pleased that you were able to explain to them that they could be like you in the future. So, I heard from many sources you can probably figure them out. Um, Belleview, what's the status and how long will it take? I know you need CO officers. I didn't know the cost for that and I was just wondering the update on the timing having been there a couple of times and seen nice space and nobody there. I'm actually scheduled to go there tomorrow. Um Belleview is a priority for us. The Belleview Outposted beds is a priority. Uh the burrow based jails is a priority. So we're working with this administration uh and law and our partners at Correctional Health Services to make sure that we open up those beds. Those beds have been on the runway for far too long. >> I'm aware. >> Far too long. >> So what's the timing though, do you think? because his co officers needed and you may not have enough and I think I know the backstory but how are we going to solve it? >> I'm working with my leadership team. I'm working with this administration to make sure that we open it uh as quickly as possible. Uh what I've asked my leadership team is to help me get to yes, right? Uh we face challenges on staffing. We face challenges in multiple aspects of our work. I believe we can get to yes. >> Okay. and I'm working with city hall to do that. >> All right. Um, just I I trust you. Others have said the same thing and nothing happened, but we trust you. Just so you know, I've been through this all of it. Um, can you walk through the number of people and their roles uh under the executive director of visiting operations? I think in a while ago you said, not you, but DOC said that you put in for 12 people. What's going on with the individuals working in this area? And are you planning to prioritize uh filling out this team? Because I think visiting is important. We've talked about this in the past. >> Absolutely. Visiting is important. I'll turn it over to DC Boyd in a minute, but let me say visiting is extremely important for me. I was on the visit work group uh with Tanya Corrupt from Osborne Association. And I remember my time on the island when my father came to visit me. He came one time and I asked him never to come back again. All the way from the Bronx. It took him all day to come visit me for one hour. And I didn't believe that that was fair. He did nothing, but yet he paid the price to come see me. And so visiting for me is a personal commitment to make sure that the people in our care get access to their visitors, looking at the how the process works so people that come feel valued and that they can see their loved ones. and we're going to do what we need to do to make sure that that's a reality for every visitor. >> As you know, in my previous role as head of oversight investigation, we did a study on this topic. So, we do know that it's challenging, but we'd love to have it improved. Go ahead. >> Hi, council member. >> Hello, Mr. James Boy. >> So, uh the executive director for visit operation has started. She is kneedeep in this work and assessing the work. Um we are trying to assess internally how we can probably self-fund the new needs for staffing. Um but she is on site. She is doing the work. Um we do appreciate the um the report that you released and just want you to know that we have accepted some of those recommendations including the benches and putting up additional signage. Um but that the glass is half full and so there's more to do there. Um we're also creating dashboards and you know uh reports to help us measure the success, right? We can't expect to improve anything if you're not measuring it. And what we've seen over the last couple of months is a reduction, a modest reduction in weight times, right? These reports keeps us honest, right? Internally, make sure that we're opening on time and make sure we're moving people through the process. And what we've saw over the last couple of months is the uh the any delays of opening visits reduced from an hour and a half to now just a couple of minutes. And so we're doing our part by creating some really uh significant dashboards led by our operations research team, but we're also excited that there's more work we can do and that we will do and this executive director is going to lead that effort. >> So is she going to have a staff of 12 people or hasn't been built out yet or what's the staff? >> It hasn't been built out yet. I think that will be her initial staffing levels. I think as we anticipate onboarding or implementing a um online visiting scheduling system for family visits, she's definitely going to need those resources, but I think those 12 people will be a starting point because I think the overall arching goal is to consolidate a lot of the visit operations under this ED. >> Okay, I appreciate that. One other question is just buses to court. We also did a study on that at O andi and I wanted to know just in terms of getting people there on time. Do you have an evaluation as to whether that happens? It's really important as we all know to get to court and so what's the status if there is any improvement or not and just the cost of doing that. Of course >> we're have I I don't know the cost specifically um council member but I we are very happy to say that our core productions are at 99%. So um you know it's something that we we take and have taken very seriously you know to move these cases forward. So um that's our number. I don't have a cost breakdown for that but I mean that's something if if you would like we could follow up with. >> Okay. I remember we heard 99% in the past but it doesn't necessarily uh tag with the folks experience because you know you 99% is what kind of denominator? In other words every single person 99% of the people who have a court date get there on time. I I don't know what is the 99% based on. >> That is anyone who has a scheduled court production, a a court appearance. 99% of the people that have that court appearance are brought to their court appearance. >> Okay. And you >> Thank you. >> Go ahead. I'm sorry. >> No, I was going to say sorry. If you want, I can put you on the next >> second round. Thank you. >> Thank you. All right. Next, we'll hear from Council Member Morano, followed by Council Member Wrestler. >> Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Commissioner, for your testimony. Uh obviously a a lot of folks have highlighted what we're seeing in terms of staffing and we're hearing that headcount is down significantly by some estimates as much as 40%. Uh can you walk us through your concrete plan to rebuild staffing levels and whether officers are still being required to work extended or triple shifts even if only for short periods? >> Yeah, thank you for that for that question. I think recruitment starts with safety. I think the reputation that the department has over decades have really deterred people from thinking about corrections as a career. And part of what we need to do is focus on safety. The second part we need to do is really develop recruitment strategies and retention strategies. As I said in my testimony, 800 people are eligible for retirement today. So one of the things we always ask is how do we get people to stay when we ought to be asking those 800 people what's keeping you here and we ought to be doing more of that right and so being able to focus on retention u because about 88% of the people who are eligible for uh retirement retire so how can we keep those folks and how do we recruit so that we can have adequate staffing and I think it starts with safety and it starts with making sure that our officers feel heard and valued and appreciated. And as I said, uh we have a system that has for far too long isolated demonized and traumatized everybody involved in that system. With facilities operating around 92% capacity and ongoing staffing shortages, are we currently operating at a level that you'd consider safe both for officers and detainees? >> Absolutely. That's why, as I said in my testimony, population reduction is really important. working with the city council and our alternatives to incarceration providers, working with our uh OCA, working with uh district attorneys and judges. Um, as I said, we don't control who comes in, but we can do our part to make sure people are connected to services so that they don't come back. Uh and so population reduction is a key to that particular strategy and we're going to be doing that. >> With punitive segregation largely eliminated, what tools do you have to manage individuals who assault correction officers or other detainees? And how do you ensure safety after those incidents occur? >> Well, you know, we're going to um we put out a 45day plan to come into compliance with local law 42. um uh that planning and work is underway. It'll be over some time, but it's underway. Uh and I think the way that we hold people accountable is with the tools that we have. And the tools that we have if that if someone assaults the staff or someone assaults someone in our care, we go through the courts. That results in an arrest that results in the prosecution and process of getting that case adjudicated. We need to separate people uh from that particular incident and we're coming up with strategies of how to do that uh so that people are held accountable, our staff are safe and people in our care are safe. >> The burrowbased jail system is designed for roughly 4500 beds while current population levels are significantly higher. How do we responsibly get from today's numbers to that level without compromising public safety? And what happens if the population exceeds capacity? >> Well, I think what we have to do is work in partnership. Uh this is, as I said in my testimony, this isn't a DOC issue. This is a New York City issue. And as Mayor Mumdani has often said, his strategy is to use all of government. And it's going to take all of government to make sure that we safely reduce our population and prepare for the barrel-based jails. Our task as a leadership team is to prepare for that transition to work with our partners to increase the use of supervised release where that's appropriate to use ATI diversion where that's appropriate to use the powers invested in me as commissioner on 6A as appropriate work with our court administrators to make sure cases are getting adjudicated in a timely fashion are all part of the strategies we need to do to bring down population. Uh so it's not a DOC issue, it is all of us issue, and I look forward to that partnership. >> Thanks very much. >> Perfect timing. Next, we will hear from Council Member Wrestler, followed by Council Member Salam. >> Thank you so much, Chair Brooks Powers, and Oh, I hope that wasn't me. Congratulations, Commissioner. It's good to see you always. Um thrilled to have you before us. uh feels like a just a breath of fresh air and a new day for the Department of Correction. Um and really excited for your leadership and the change that you're going to help usher in. Uh it is urgently needed as you know better than all. Um and I want to congratulate First Deputy Commissioner Egan. I've heard great things about you. So look forward to working with the whole team. Uh, a few things I just wanted to focus on and I I'll I'd like to build on a little bit of what Council Member Morano was asking, but before I do, just want to check in on the therapeutic outpost units. This has been a big priority of mine for about seven years and uh, Belleview was supposed to open in 2022. Uh, it's 2026. Gail already asked. So, can Gail asked about Belleview. Did you ask about North Central Bronx and Woodhill as well? >> All right. So, Belleview was answered. I'll go to Gail for the updates there. North Central Brocks and Woodh Hall um were supposed to be under construction already. They aren't. DOC's been your predecessors were entirely uncooperative on this and despite these being fully funded projects did absolutely nothing to move things forward. So what is the status on these projects? I'm sure they're priorities of yours, I want to understand how they're going to get done. >> Thank you for that, uh council member and good to see you truly. >> Um it is it's a priority for this administration and it's a priority for this leadership team. >> Great. uh to bring those beds online. It is an important component to population reduction, safety, uh and making sure people are in the right place to get the care that they need and not in our facilities being detained. And so it is a priority. Um I can't give you a specific date as to when, but I can tell you it is absolutely a priority for the mayoral administration and for my administration to bring those beds online. and we're working with our correctional health partners to make sure that that happens as quickly as possible. >> Brilliant. What I would ask is by the time you come back to us for exec um that we do have a timeline, right? So that when we we have this conversation again in 45 60 days that we do have a clear path forward. Understand that you've only been there a few weeks and it's hard to figure it all out in real time, but this is a main priority and these are fully funded projects. We're excited to have a DOC that's cooperative and supportive of these efforts. I'd like to to go back to Council Member Morano's questions on population reduction and you have, you know, a deep expertise in this topic. Understand well that this is not narrowly in the purview of the Department of Correction, but it's a city-wide challenge. We need to work with state stakeholders, providers, the council as well. Um, can you speak to, you know, a how you're planning to approach your 6A authority and what opportunities there are to reduce the city sentence population? My quick review of the data was that when the when Mayor Adams took office in January of 2022, just 3% of the population was city sentenced. Today, it's closer to 8% of the population is city sentenced. Do you think there's an opportunity for us to significantly uh reduce the city sentenced population? And then secondly, what are the investments that you think we should be prioritizing as a city to further reduce the population in supervised release in other ATIAD programs? What are the things that you think are the most important priorities for us as we move forward on this budget? >> Again, thank you for that question. I think the the use of 6A is a tool, but the reality of it is we have 6,700 people. I think we have a little bit over 500 people who are city sentenced in our system. We do have a process in place where everybody who comes into the system is screened. Uh the first deputy commissioner and I have looked at that process and we are assessing what we could do to create not oneoff strategies but a systemic strategy that really allows us to move the population reduce the population based on 6A and create a system that is sustainable. What I think the city could do for investments, if you look at who's in our system, I think we need to support alternatives to incarceration, supervised release, case processing where appropriate, and the most important, access to drug treatment and housing. When I was at Fortune, 25% of the people who came through our door were unstably housed. We have been grow, Fortune has been growing housing in response to that urgent need. When people leave our system and end up in the shelter and end up on the street, they tend to end up back into our system. Yeah. And so we need to make the appropriate systems at those touch points to make sure people have a place to land. >> That's right. >> And they have hope that life could be different for them because people tend to learn how to live the life that they've always lived until someone breathes life into them. and we as a city have an opportunity to breathe life into people when they leave our system. >> I I couldn't agree with you more strongly. I think that for us to achieve the population reduction that is necessary for the burrow-based jail plan to be successful, it's going to require those investments. One of the real failures or shortcomings of the original burrow-based jail plan was that it it mandated a series of investments for one year and it's just not enough. we have to sustain it. And so there were a lot of really smart investments and initiatives in population reduction in supervised release in ATI and ATDs in justice involved supportive housing in the treatment that people need. It laid out the roadmap but for one year and we need your help and expertise and leadership to develop that plan with the city council for what are the investments we need in this budget and in the next series of budgets to sustain and achieve that population reduction so that we can shrink the population, achieve the burbased jail plan and have a safer uh jail system for all. And I am really looking forward to working with you. And next time I'm going to be asking more about culture change because I feel like we have leadership the agency now that's thinking about how does a new DOC house and staff and uh the buroughbased jails to ensure that we don't replicate the problems on Riker's Island in our communities. So thank you and really excited to work together and thank you chair. >> Thank you council member. Next we'll hear from council member Salam followed by council member Grewer. Thank you and good afternoon. Glad to uh hear the testimony and um all of the great things that the department is planning for the uh this population of people. I want to start off with um state ready population overgrowth and fiscal impact. So due to New York State Department of Correction staffing shortages, state ready individuals in DOC custody increased from 103 to 622. It cost approximately $400,000 a year to incarcerate someone on Riker's Island. Yet the city has not received reimbursements. What is the total cost of housing state ready individuals? And has the city pursued reimbursement from the state? So, I can have our GC respond to that. Uh, we've had, as you indicated, a major problem, but I am really happy to report that our state partners have been working in collaboration with the department to make sure that the people who are state ready are going upstate. Our number currently stands a little lower than a hundred people state ready. And I watch that every single day on my census report and I'm seeing movement where the state are take they're taking people um out of our jurisdiction which is a good thing. I'll turn it over to the GC. >> Yeah. Um to echo what the commissioner said, we're we're happy that the cadence of transfers is what it was pre- strike. So, um, you know, we we work with our partners upstate on on a number of these things to make sure that we don't have a a backlog like we did because our population increased by about 20%. I will ask our AC of finance um to answer your question regarding the cost and the recouping of of funds. >> Um, thank you for the question. I am happy to announce that or to say that we do receive recruitment um from the state uh on a quarterly basis for all of the um state ready individuals who are in our care for more than 10 days. So every quarter we we correspond with with the state the state sends us a list and and then we do get reimbured for those and those reimbursements happen on the um on the PS side. Okay, moving to Buroughbased jails uh capital cost overrun. The burrowbased jails project was originally estimated at 8 million and is now over now projected at over 11 I'm sorry 8 billion and is now projected at over 11.47 billion a 406% cost increase. um what is driving these costs increase and is there risk of further delays or overrun? >> I I can tell you that uh the mayoral administration and this department is committed uh to opening the buroughbased jails and closing Riker's Island. As I said in my testimony and to questions asked earlier, uh the infrastructure on Riker's Island is not conducive to the health and safety of those who are our staff and those who are in our care. The cost increase, I think, is a natural response to the increase in the cost of living and the increase in the cost of materials. um when it takes you as long as it's taken uh the city to uh build the barrel based jails uh you're going to have costs increase. Uh so I believe that those costs increase and projections are based on increased in materials. >> And regarding the mental health population growth given chronic understaffing, how is DOC providing adequate mental health care and reducing the population of incarcerated persons with mental illness? Yeah, this is where we work very closely with our partners, correctional health services, uh, to make sure that people get access to those services and make sure that they are appropriately cared for. Um, and I'm thrilled to be working with Paty Yang and her team who care deeply about the mental health and health care of those in our care. Uh, and so we work with our partners to make sure that happens. And lastly, uh, violence in custody escalation. While the first four months of fiscal year 26 has shown a 14% decrease in violence, the 10-year trend is alarming. What structural changes in in staffing, training, and facility operations is DOC implementing to reverse this decadesl long trend? And given the ongoing violence and security challenges on Riker's Island, how can DOC reduce security security staffing while maintaining staff operation, safe operations? >> Um, as I said earlier, I think it's a number of strategies. Population reduction, recruitment, making sure that we have uh adequate staffing uh to cover the increase in population, making sure programs are embedded in our day-to-day operations. We have our new providers, our providers coming back uh to be able to do that to help make sure people are connected to services. And it's creating a model uh that creates safety for officers and safety for the people in our care. And that means giving people something to hold on to. We need to express the value and concern we have for our officers. And we need to do the same thing for the people in our care. And I think, you know, I use this this analogy, a rising tide lifts all boats. And this is a moment where we need to make sure the tide is rising so that officers feel valued and safe and the people in our care are safe and connected to service so that they don't have they don't come back. And so it's not a quick fix. It's not a one strategy. It's multiple strategy. And as Mayor Mani always says, using all of government to fix it. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member Brewer. >> Thank you very much, Chair. So, the sell doors, I understood it was 38 million total. It seems to me that's such a priority. But I was able once with uh some uh I would say Chromebooks I think it was at DOE to go around district directive 10. You have to figure out a way to go around that. What are you doing? I I don't understand this. This is like a crisis >> to capital would be much easier than trying to get the >> It's a priority. It's a priority of the Bayoral administration and it's a priority of this administration. We appreciate uh working with our partners at OM to put some baseline funding in to fix the doors. >> But that's a >> but it's an ongoing conversation with this administration. I'm specifically >> But you are this administration >> and I'm I'm saying the mayoral administration that I'm working with uh to make sure that the doors are a priority. >> Okay. But I hope that maybe uh with this committee and all of us, we could push to have this become capital because you are never going to get it with the expense. Yes. >> Is it 38 million? Is that the general number for the doors, cell doors to be fixed? That's the number I've heard. >> It's it's uh I I don't want to misspeak, so we're going to have to get back to you with the exact number, but it >> it's a big number. >> It's a big number. >> Okay. Number two, quickly, food. James Boyd knows I'm interested in food. So we met with the wonderful staff and we also learned that it is possible to do more in terms of uh buying from the farmers. I get told on you know uh farm to table or something. I I'll take that. I don't care. But the issue is I assume that it could be the same cost. We need small potatoes not large ones. I got the whole list. What are we doing? And is it I don't think it's a cost factor. I think it's a policy factor to improve fresh fruits and vegetables at Rikers because it helps people's mental health too. >> No, you see boy. >> All right, council member. We can follow up. We actually have a new leader overseeing our nutritional services division and we can follow up with an update on that. >> Okay. A little salt would be nice. Just a little. Um then just finally, just really just really quickly program. So I know you talked a lot about it. I know commissioner you have lots of great ideas, but is there enough funding without getting into the specifics and some of the questions alluded to that to do more programming so that people have something to look as you said to look forward to internally and then outside just programming has to be more when I go there I do see a lot of people not in a program. >> Yeah. Well, I'm thankful that we have the providers coming back in and we'll be providing services uh throughout the department. I'm thankful for that. But as we move forward and we continue to build out the planned of the future, we will make we be assessing what else do we need. Our bottom line in terms of moving to the burrowbased jail, reducing population, what we can do while people are in our care is make sure people have access to services. Not only does it provide hope and possibility for people, it provides people continuity. So when they leave us as everyone will leave us one way either to the community or to the state or some other way, they will be leaving us. We have control over when they leave and how they leave and where they leave too. >> Okay. So it's you'll work to see the funding and the appropriateness of programming and a more robust then I'm supportive of uh borrow based jails. I took a lot of heat supported the one in Manhattan as burough president. My issue though is doesn't have a big kitchen. I assume you know that and doesn't have a lot of outdoor space. Are you able to deal you thinking about that in your planning? Well, I was also on the original design team, right? And so we came up with design principles about light movement and access, right? And using design not as a strategy for safety, but using a design that's centered on the humanity of those who are in our care and those staff, the staff we have. You know, you visited uh Rikers. There's nothing about those facilities that tell staff that they are valued, they're appreciated. Nothing that tells the people in our care that >> what we hope with the burrowbased jails system is that we can use those design principles to make sure that the people in those facilities feel valued. >> Okay. Just make sure the kitchen's not big enough yet in Manhattan, just so you know. And I don't know how you're going to deal with outdoor space. You're thinking about that. Uh well, I need to get briefed by DDC on >> I'll get I can tell you those are two issues. So, please check up. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Salt >> and salt. Even though salt is not too, you know, healthy, >> a little bit of garlic powder, even though y'all can get creative with some seasoning, you don't need salt to season all the time. Okay, let's get back into it. But I'm going to pick up with my line of questioning with starting with case processing. Local law 138 of 2025 requires the department to install technology to allow incarcerated people to review the evidence against them. The department has previously testified that it was contracting with a program called Lightning Law to do this, which would be installed on tablets. $1 million was baseline for this program in fiscal year 26. What is the status of lightning law installation and compliance with the law? >> We are in the very final stages of of dealing with technological and um just legal issues with lightning law. So, um I anticipate very very soon uh and and Lightning Law, their staff has come into our facilities to start to train our staff on its usage. So, we are at the finish line on that and I anticipate it'll be on the tablets in short order. >> Perfect. Thank you for that. And is the $1 million in funding still included in the budget? And if so, under what budget line? It is currently um included in the budget. Now in terms of the budget line, it's it's under our IT division, but like that that's where it rests. >> Okay. Thank you for that. Video meetings and video court appearances play a critical role in moving people's cases forward and figuring out a re-entry plan that works. When people do not make scheduled calls, that prolongs their time in Rikers. Per the preliminary mayor's management report, the department gets 89% of people to video court appearances as opposed to 99%. Who get to inerson court appearances? The latter is, you know, a great statistic. Obviously, how often does the department produce people on time for video appointments with attorneys? >> So, I think there's there's two different things we're talking about here. So, we're talking about um court productions. Uh we actually that's the 89% that we're talking about under video productions. Uh recent changes to the criminal procedure law greatly expanded the types of hearings that could be done virtually. Um, in light of that, we we actually have a procurement out for an expansion of our video kiosks to accommodate that. So, I anticipate in again in the coming year, our goal and our anticipation is that we will have a a much more robust production up in the in the universe of of 99% or higher where we are on the physical productions. Um, but also um you we do have separate from the attorney visits we we which we are working on robustly. um to to improve on scheduling and otherwise we separate from that the family visits productions are one of our highest utilized um it's on Fridays and um what I understand to be a very good system with the family visits on that >> I'm I'm curious if you could go a little deeper just to kind of explain why going in front of a the device is a lower percentage hit rate versus having to like transport someone to court. >> My understanding that we could follow up affirmatively are two issues. One is the actual number of of terminals we have which is what I'm talking about in the in the uh procurement which we're going to expand out on. And the second thing is is just technical issues. Um what I understand is there's sometimes technical issues on both um the court side and our side at times which I mean we've all experienced you know issues with uh Zoom or Teams meetings. Um so my understanding is that what accounts for that but we could certainly follow up and and just confirm that that's my my understanding is correct. >> Thank you for that. How often does the department produce people on time for video appointments for mental health service provider or re-entry related assessments? I'm going to ask DC Boyd. >> Yeah, I I have to check to see, but I don't I'm not quite certain if we tracking on that granular level, but I'm happy to follow up. >> Okay. You going to check now or are you going to get back to us? >> I can get back to you, ma'am. >> Okay. What are your plans to ensure people get to all the video appointments on time? Like, how are you working through those kinks? So, as this as this process kind of evolves, you know, and and the and the productions increase, it will be much easier if we don't have as many people going to court, uh, and then we have the video booths available so that we we'll be able to develop a system. I I think right now is what's happening is the court system is kind of an evolution transitioning from what is customarily, you know, in person to a a video system. So again, as the staff become available and our kiosks become um more abundantly available, uh we should see an improvement um just by naturally, you know, just easier to make those productions. >> But that's also an opportunity for us to continue to assess, right? And this is where we say all of government, if we're seeing more and more people are being um invited to do the video um court hearings, we need to increase our capacity as the D GC said, making sure we have more terminals, making sure we have officers available to escort people to those terminals so that those cases can get heard. Yes, that was going to be actually my follow-up question. Like if you're seeing a growing need, is the budget going to reflect the need to invest more in that space um to be able to facilitate that? How many sta I'm I'm sorry, pivoting now to uh staffing and overtime. How many staff does a department employ or contract as bail facilitators? >> Bail facilitators. I'm not sure. >> These professionals are statutoily required to meet with incarcerated people within 48 hours of admission to jail to help them post bail. >> I am not sure. I would have to Yeah, I would have to follow up on that. I'm not I couldn't answer that question right now. >> So, as a followup within this um section, does funding for bail facilitators come from the department's budget? And are there any performance metrics you can share about how effective bail facilitators are at helping people post bail? >> We'll get back to you on both. Y >> thank you. Um the department has contracted to spend up to $800,000 with an outside firm to undertake a staffing analysis. The contract began in January 2026 and runs through June 2027. When was the last time before this that the department undertook a staffing analysis at Riker's? >> So, we had engaged in 2025 with um the state commission of correction to do a post analysis. Um it did take a a considerable amount of time to go through one facility. Um I think under the previous administration, which is, you know, now moved into 2026, we we to undertook the vendor to do so. And um thus far there's been I think very considerable and productive results at at the outset. So we're really anxious and and excited to see what you know the the the ultimate product of that is. >> And is each facility being analyzed separately? >> The entire department is being reviewed. Yes. Separately and and collectively. >> And what is the sequence of that analysis and when will the analysis for each facility be ready? So, I met with the consultant yesterday and she presented her preliminary analysis and framework. Uh, we are going to be meeting with Nick and his team when he's back. Uh, the consultant will be in town on April 13th. So, that we we will meet. She will do a full briefing and lay out the timeline for the analysis. >> The consultant is out of state. >> Yes. Um, so when you guys procured that contract, were there no like New York-based firms to consider? >> I think um I think this per it might I have to look into it. I don't know if this was a formal RFP, if this was put out for a spec a specific expertise area to do this, which I think might be the case, but again, that's that's a specific question we'll have to follow up on. I don't think this was a formal request for proposal that was put out for biders. So, as you're looking into that, I'd like to know what that process was to identify this entity and how that particular person was selected versus looking within the state. And also, it would be good to know if this is an MWBE um contractor as well. >> We we'll get both those answers, too. >> Thank you. Um, as you know, captains play a critical role supervising and supporting the line staff dayto day. How many captains does the department currently have? >> I'm gonna turn to the chief for that. >> Good afternoon, Sherry. I remember again. Um the captains, we allowed for 703, but we only have 490 with a vacancy of 213. >> What's the plan of action to fill those vacancies? Well, first, um, because of our staffing challenges on the officer side, we're going to have to build that level up first, and then we'll go into, um, doing a a class promotion class for the captains. But first things first, we have to build the the the correction officer level up first before we can do that because if you do not, then it's going to it's going to level it will not level us off. >> Makes sense. Thank you for that. What is the ideal number of captains to operate the jail safely? I know you said what the the goal is but to look to operate it safely. What is that ideal number that magic number to operate it safely and properly? Or put another way, what is the ideal ratio of officers to captains to your point earlier in terms of >> Right. So the ideal is to have the 700. >> Okay. because we're going to the Nunez remediation and you need supervision in order for our officers to be able to do their job properly and give them the level of supervision they need, the support and guidance they need so that we can have a safe, healthy and secure facility. That is that is the goal. That is the number 700. Do you and I know you you have to increase the number of the actual like um officers and in order to in order to increase the number of captains but is there a plan for fiscal 27 to do that and if so is that included in the budget? >> Very good question. I think my commissioner want to answer it. >> Yeah. Yeah. the approved um uh headcount is in the budget. >> Okay. And that takes into account the captains as well. Yes. >> Okay. >> Um how much has the department spent on overtime so far in fiscal 26? >> The department has spent approximately $240 million >> thus far. >> And what is the projection for the spending by the end of fiscal 26? approximately 370 million. >> How much is allocated to overtime among the various budget lines for fiscal 27 and how was the total number determined? And as you're looking for the number, I'm going just tell you my pet peeve around the overtime because I feel like to get the balanced budget, we normally project lower and go over budget as a result instead of just being realistic in terms of what that need really looks like. Um, yeah, hold on. Give me just a moment. >> Sure. >> You're absolutely right. Um, so as of right now for civilian staff members for fiscal year 27, we are we are at 7 million and for uniform members of service, we're at 158. But but you're right, the the needs or the budgetary needs are then addressed as the year goes on. So next year, uh, whatever our overtime, um, expenditures are, uh, we'll work closely with OM to address those the the budgetary concerns to bring us back up the same way that it happened this fiscal year. >> Well, with the number you just projected for fiscal year 27, when you look year to date to like the current fiscal and its expectations or even fiscal 25, how how is it trending like and how are you creating that number? So we have a baseline budget right that baseline that budget is just there it exists right then with each plan cycle that that budget is adjusted right so in terms of how I think your question is how is overtime changing >> well I wanted to know like so when you project and you're requesting from OMB the amount you just said for fiscal 27 right how how did you come to that number like are you looking at the the previous fiscal years and how much was spent projecting a need to increase it at all. Like for me, I I know myself and some of my colleagues, and it's not just with corrections, it's also with PD and some of the other agencies that have to contend with overtime. It's important to really understand if these numbers are are true, to have a a a true idea of what our budget looks like because otherwise we're doing these these mods and these changes throughout the year to address a shortfall because we already knew that corrections normally spends X for overtime, but yet they put $2 million less in what they're requesting from OMB. And I'll let the um AC answer how he got to the 158. What were the projections? I think there's a variable that we factor in and is available to manage. If we fill positions, we reduce overtime. We reduce population, we reduce overtime. And so the strategy as a department is to try to fill those vacancies um and recruit. Uh and so that is the strategy. If we can fill those positions, we can begin to have promotional classes for captains. So it doesn't allow us to take from Peter to pay Paul. >> We can have those captain classes. We can reduce overtime. >> Now, Commissioner, can I say I actually appreciate that answer because that's been the most straightforward I've ever gotten on that. >> So I definitely appreciate that. But I then up you on that and want to ask how aggressive do you go then to make sure you're filling those positions understanding that that as a result will bring down the overtime cost. >> Yes. Uh I met with our communications team. We're going to be putting out uh new communication strategy to try to attract people to take uh the exam. We have the exam working with Dcast have the exam uh coming up. Uh we are looking at making sure that we're able to expedite people through our vetting and screening process. So I I have a strategy that I'm going to be talking with um city hall about. Um and so that's you know it's like really creating a different narrative for this department both through our media and through the way that we operate to attract people uh to the department. >> Yeah. I just want to make clear the one the the numbers that I gave you for next fiscal year, they are not a projection of of overtime. It's just what's in our budget, right? There's there's a distinction to be made there, right? >> It's very difficult to project one year down the line what the overtime is going to be. There's way too many variables to take into account. So, the best that we could do is look at our current vacancies and see what our facilities need and what that variance is. The truth of the the fact of the matter is that our uniform members of service their headcount has decreased substantially, right? And at the same time, our uh average daily population has increased substantially. That creates a differential and in order to fill that defial we must fill it with overtime. That's the only operational lever that we have and that is our primary uh driving factor or predictive factor that we use to to uh assess what the overtime will be by the end of the fiscal year. and I appreciate that response. So, thank you for that. In terms of the strategy, I don't know if you guys have it um at corrections, but is there a referral um mechanism also? I think about the correction officers live in my district. Most of them roll up on me and stop and shop in Arver. Um but just thinking like when you talk neighbor to neighbor and say, "Hey, you know, I I got this job at correction, great pension, 20 years in and out. Like, are you interested?" What is the benefit for them to do that? Yeah, that that was something actually I was talking with the leadership team the other day about creating uh those kind of strategies. Um so everything is on the table. I think that's a wonderful strategy. When I was at Fortune that was something we had. Uh I went to uh the ADW's um union meeting and one of the retired ADWs had said to me, "My son was thinking about coming to the department, but because of the issues around safety, I told him not to come." And this department used to be a department that generations used to come here. >> It was their kids and their kids. And so that is not the reality anymore. Um, and that's why I say, you know, this system has just traumatized everybody in it. The officers don't feel like this is a place that they would want their family to work. They don't feel like this is a place as soon as they can get out, they want to get out. Uh, because they don't feel safe and they don't feel valued. And the people who are put in our care don't feel valued and feel like the only way to survive is the survival of the fittest. And so, we have to change it. And I believe that this is a moment with this mayor, the leadership team that I'm building at the department to change that, to change the narrative of the department and the way that we work. And that's what I'm committed to doing in partnership with all of you and all of our partners in the community. >> Well, you definitely have an open invite if you want to set up a table in a high dense area in the district or anywhere around the city. Uh I know my colleagues >> just to add we do have a recruitment team and so if you are having job fairs or community fairs we're happy to dispatch uh and deploy our teams there. We have been very aggressive on a recruitment front. As the commissioner mentioned we do have an exam registration that's opening up April 1st. This is now the fourth exam we're opening in the fiscal year. And so we're doing all that we can to drop the test and recruit people. We're also doing digital ads, social media ads. We're looking at our strategies on who were uh who's the face of some of these campaigns. One of the things we saw that was a big improvement was adding additional correction officers into the market materials so that there's representation and people can see themselves as a correction officer. This is a game changer for the department as you just referenced back in the day 20 years ago all of these jobs is word of mouth. Tell a friend to tell a friend to tell aunt and that's how we came on the job. And so now with technology, we have to leverage every channel. We welcome the opportunity for you to post things on your social media channels as well as all of the council members to help us with those recruitment efforts. I think as a commissioner stated, it's going to take a whole of city government approach to help us recruit officers. >> No, thank you for that. I'm going to now pivot to mental health. I know my colleagues asked some questions, so that took most of them off of the list for me. Um, how many people currently in custody at Riker have a serious mental illness? >> I'm going to ask our AC to come up and say, >> "Hi, good afternoon. Kathleen Zedzora, assistant commissioner of health affairs." So, um, Correctional Health Services, who's responsible for the, uh, health and mental health care for people in custody, does not disclose specific mental health diagnoses to the department. So, I would have to go by what I believe CHS most recently publicly stated, which is around 20% of individuals have a diagnosed serious mental illness. >> Thank you. And some of these questions are for CHS, so just let me know if you can answer them. If you cannot, we we will follow up. In the past, CHS staff and correctional staff took a week-long crisis intervention training course side by side to prepare staff to work as teams and units for people with serious mental illness. The training was halted entirely for years after COVID hit. And when it restarted briefly, the department and CHS no longer trained together. We understand the training was then halted again for months for contracting reasons. Is that coordinated corporate cooperative training taking place today? >> Thank you for the question. So the crisis intervention teams training is done by the academy now and the um the pause for uh a contract that you referenced uh that is now that's rolled out and so there are uh there are community providers that assist with the mental health instruction portion of that. We would have to get back to you with specific numbers as far as how many uh members of service have been trained now in the new in the new year. >> Thank you for that. >> I'm sorry. Um I'm going to take that question. So um the CIT training and mental health first aid training is plus a thousand members of service that have taken that. Um and the CIT training for anyone that's in the mental um health observation is 135 members have taken that. the basic uh CI the basic um crisis management is plus 1,800 members have taken that. There is also other training that we do uh provide outside of our crisis intervention which is a one for a one-time thing and then we have a refresher once a year. Then there's the mental health first aid. Um that's every three years that is a certification. After that I have the crisis management that's a onetime event. And then we have the correction uh conflict resolution as well. That is part of the training that we are giving. Um and that's under the the Bureau of Justice um assistance program grant we have. So we we work in conjunctions with uh Laguadier uh uh college um during the uh crisis intervention uh training. Thank you for that. Um how long on average are people staying at Riker after they have been found unfit by a judge before being transferred to a state hospital for treatment? Um, we have about on a rolling basis between 180 and 200 individuals that are awaiting mental health beds. I don't know the specific length of stay. We could talk to I'll I'll bring that back to the to our um our management team, custody management team to kind of get assessment of that, but we are working closely with the state um on that issue and there is litigation related to that that doesn't involve us directly. But um we do work with them to try to accelerate those timelines. But there is about 180 to 200 in our custody that are awaiting beds. >> And they're waiting beds because of I'm sorry. >> What? Like what results in the delay of them getting places? >> It's the availability of beds in for the state. Yes. >> Got it. Um, and Commissioner, have you been able to review the report from last year concerning deadlocking? >> I have not reviewed that report. >> Okay. Do you know if deadlocking or medlocking is still happening in any mental health units that you know of? that is um you know just for the council's awareness and chair we we referred that um those allegations out to the department of investigation and they've not yet been returned to us. So that is still under investigation but we have made clear to our teams and internally that that is not a practice that is to be going on. Um, you know, so we we we've looked into it internally and made sure that um we've messaged our entire staff at multiple different meetings that that is not acceptable within guidelines practice. But to comment beyond that is, like I said, it's under investigation with DOI. We've not gotten a results yet. >> If someone with serious mental illness is deadlocked or otherwise not being allowed out of their cell, will CHS staff treat and medicate that person at the cell door? I I I can't answer on behalf of CHS. That is a CHS question. Chair, >> thank you for that. >> I'm going to pivot to death in custody. Um following the death of Ardit Villa, who was found dead after being held in one of the PACE units, the board of correction investigation reported that mandatory 30 minute checks were missed in the hours before his death. what actions have been taken by the department to ensure that these checks are conducted. >> So I think um when we when we talked to the board of correction, there was a number of recommendations that they made. One of the one of the things that we've talked about consistently and has been raised to us is the issue of touring and doing consistent touring. Um, as we've articulated at the board of correction meetings, we do have a um, you know, an oversight system and a towan system that's utilized to ensure that that's that's happening. Um, you know, again, specific instances are are still under investigation related to that, but you know, it is part of our policy to do this consistent touring and um to make sure that it is addressed. And in some circumstances in these deaths, there has been um discipline implemented like immediately subsequent to a review of the incidents. But this is something that I know this administration is is serious about and and that's a basic correctional practice. >> And one of the things that we're doing uh is looking at the death that occurred in 2025, lessons learned, what can we do to ensure the prevention of that. And I think over the years, one of the things we have seen uh that I've seen since uh taking on this seat is the utilization and training of all of our officers with NAN uh and the ability for our officers to use Narcan. Um has been what I've seen um a gamecher in terms of loss of life. uh the willingness for them to do it, for them to be trained, and every officer carrying it. And so we're looking at what we can do as a department to ensure the safety of those who are in our care. Um and so we're looking at all of the deaths for 2025. >> Thank you. And according to the PMMR, there has been one non natural death on Rikers in the first four months of fiscal 2026 and only four in all of fiscal 2025. What criteria qualifies as a nonnatural death? >> I'm going to turn it over to our AC. And so also there are uh there are two pending deaths from calendar year 2025 that have not received a final OCM determination. So that number may change um the next time that is updated. My understanding is that non-natural death would be any death that the medical examiner's office does not consider to be 100% attributable to a sickness or an illness. So an accidental manner of death for example would be considered non-natural. Suicide would be considered non-natural. a therapeutic complication would be considered non-natural. >> Got it. Thank you. Well, those are all of the questions that the committee has for you today. I thank you for your testimony um and the conversation around the budget today. Um the panel is dismissed. We'll take a two-minut break before we bring up the board of correction. Thank you. Thank you. >> Sorry, we'll take a 15 minute break. Good afternoon. Just quick reminder that there's no food or drinks in the chambers today. No one may approach the deis at any time. Thank you. Good afternoon. Just another quick announcement. There will be no food or drinks in the chambers. No one may approach the deis. Thank you. Good afternoon. The hearing is now back in session. We are entering into this segment with the board of corrections and we will be hearing from the executive director Jasmine George's Yelia Melissa Centron Hernandez the general counsel Tiana Benton Court deputy executive director of administration Katrina Blackman, assistant executive director of monitoring. Thank you. And Naven Naveina Chaitu, assistant executive director of research. Council will swear you all in. >> Good afternoon, everyone. Please raise your right hands. Do you affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth before this committee, and to respond honestly to council members questions? Thank you. You may begin. >> Good afternoon, Chair Brooks, Powers, and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on behalf of the New York City Board of Correction regarding our fiscal year 2027 budget needs. As you just said, I am Jasmine George's Yela, executive director of the board, and I'm joined today by BOCC's deputy executive director of administration, Tiana Bettincourt, our deputy executive director and general counsel, Melissa Centron Hernandez. BOCC's assistant executive director of monitoring, Katrina Blackman, and our assistant executive director of research, Naveina Chaitu. Also, the board's chair, Dwayne Samson, sends his regards to you, chair, and to the committee members as well. As an independent oversight body established under section 626 of the New York City charter, the board serves as a critical accountability mechanism for the city's jail system. The board is mandated to establish, monitor, and enforce minimum standards governing the care, custody, and safety of people detained in New York City jails. Despite operating as a small agency with limited resources since its creation, the board remains committed to fulfilling this significant responsibility. To carry out its mandate, the board monitors compliance with its minimum standards through regular facility visits and inspections, data and document review, public meetings and hearings, and engagement with effective stakeholders. The board also conducts investigations and systemwide reviews of critical issues, including deaths in custody and publicly reports on jail conditions, compliance, and areas requiring corrective action. Over the past year, the board has issued reports and recommendations regarding non-compliance with the board's overcrowding rules, access to council rules, and housing units and practices operating as restrictive housing without due process and among among other issues. The board also published two death reports, three burrow-based jails progress reports, a monitoring unit quarterly report, an assessment of the department of corrections lockin and lockout procedures, and a report on injury response in New York City jails. With additional resources, the board could significantly expand the scope and impact of this work. Inadequate resourcing of these core functions materially limits the board's ability to carry out its legally required role and weakens the city's overall governance framework. We thank the city council for always investing in the board as a key partner in the strategy to transform the city's jail system. The board's fiscical year 27 budget is 4 million which supports 33 authorized positions and other than personnel services. Over 60% of our 329,000 OTPS budget goes to heat, light and power for Dcast managed facilities. costs beyond our control. Covering both our headquarters at two Lafayette Street and our operational presence on Riker's Island, we currently have 29 staff with four vacancies impacting operations. Two correctional standards review specialist positions are expected to be filled by year end. The director of research and computer aid positions remain unfilled due to underfunding and budget approval delays. While recent hires like the director of violence prevention, EEO officer, and special investigations coordinator strengthen oversight, staffing levels remain insufficient to ensure full compliance with minimum standards, especially as the jail population continues to exceed the capacity of burrow-based jails. Additional resources are are essential to keep pace with evolving operations and ongoing system changes. The board seeks an additional 2.8 million in its fisc year 27 new need submission, increasing the board's overall budget to 6.8 million. This request reflects the city's current fiscal realities while ensuring the agency can fulfill its chartermandated oversight duties. The request focuses on three core areas: personnel, operational support, and modern technology infrastructure. Since submitting this request, the Office of Management and Budget has asked the board to identify 60,000 in savings for fiscal year 26 and 100,000 in fiscal year 27 and the outy years and to cut agency vacancies by 50%. Maintaining current staffing and ideally expanding it is essential. Any reduction in positions or funding would severely limit the board's ability to monitor jail conditions, respond promptly to incidents, and conduct critical research. The board seeks four positions and approximately 450,000 for the baseline support of oversight, operations, data infrastructure, and executive coordination. Specifically, the board requests funding for a deputy executive director of oversight and compliance to serve as lead project manager for our complex oversight work. This role would coordinate investigations, compliance reviews monitoring research and reporting across teams and external partners, ensuring timely action. It would also develop tools to track compliance with minimum standards, a critical need as the city transitions to burrow-based jails. With the jail population at roughly 7,000, this position is essential to ensure oversight keeps pace with evolving facilities, policies, and practices. Additionally, the board requests a prison rape elimination act or PRIA project director to restore PRIA monitoring and address ongoing gaps in sexual abuse and harassment compliance. An IT system support engineer to rebuild and maintain DOC to BOC data feeds, support modern data infrastructure, and ensure accurate reporting. and a special assistant to the executive director, secretary to the board to support executive administrative tasks, governance of operations, meeting preparation and committee work. These roles are essential to maintain effective operations and accountability. In addition to personal services funding, the board requires baseline operational funding for legallymandated accessibility services including communication access realtime translation or cart to ensure that all meetings and hearings are accessible to staff. Also, the board is required to hold regular public meetings which entail ongoing costs for audiovisisual support, lighting and recording. These are fixed, legally required, and demand-driven expenses. After covering these obligations, along with the unavoidable utility costs, only 37,000 remains for all other operations, including contractual services, supplies, and equipment. This amount is insufficient. It significantly constrains the board's ability to fulfill its chartermandated responsibilities and creates a risk of a budget def deficit. Due to limited OTPS capacity, the agency has been forced to shift funding from PS to OTPS to meet these needs. This is not a sustainable approach. To eliminate the need for these shifts, the board is requesting 90,000 for baseline accessibility funding and an additional H 100,000 in OTPS funding to support essential operations and address a growing workload driven by increased complaints and appeals as well as the limitations of an outdated data management system. A central component of the board's OTPS request is 2.1 million to support continued investment in modern data infrastructure, particularly the complaints and appeals management system or CAMS. This system replaces the board's legacy data manager platform, which was built nearly two decades ago and is no longer supported or capable of meeting modern security, storage, or reporting requirements. CAMS is essential for receiving, tracking, and analyzing complaints and appeals from people in custody, attorneys, advocates, and correctional staff. It enables the board to coordinate investigations, identify patterns of concern, and produce the public reporting required under the charter. CAMS also restores the board's ability to integrate and analyze operational data from the department of correction which is fundamental to effective oversight of violence, use of force, restrictive housing placements, access to care, grievances, and other key indicators of jail conditions. Without modern data infrastructure, the board's oversight work risk interruptions, delayed investigations, and reduced transparency, especially as we monitor a larger, more complex population. As the city moves toward burrow-based jails, strong coordinated oversight becomes even more critical. facilities operational policies and practices will change and the board must have the capacity to track compliance with minimum standards and ensure that reforms translate into measurable improvements in safety, fairness, and transparency for the jail population. Together, these PS and OTPS requests totaling 2.8 8 million reflect a lean proposal that considers the required savings targets. The board's work is critical to ensuring transparency, accountability, and humane conditions in the city's jails. Yet, our ability to meet this mandate is sharply limited by our current funding. An overall budget of 6.8 8 million would allow the board to begin to expand its reach and provide effective oversight during a period of significant change in the jail system. Oversight is most meaningful if it drives results, turning monitoring, research, and investigations into timely findings, public reporting, and measurable improvements in compliance. We look forward to working with the council, the administration, and the remediation manager to strengthen compliance with the minimum standards, support a safe transition away from Riker's Island, and reinforce transparency and public trust. Thank you again for the opportunity to testify, and I welcome your questions. >> Thank you. And I'd like to also say thank you for submitting your testimony in advance. We greatly appreciate it in terms of being prepared for today's conversation. I'm going to start with the topic of the chief savings officer. The administration has called on all agencies to bring on savings through the creation of a chief sa savings officer who will complete a comprehensive assessment of their agency's spending. who has been designated the chief savings officer for the board of corrections and what areas of spending are being looked at for savings. >> I'll I'll turn it over to our assistant executive director of administration, Tiana Betting Court. Before I do, I just want to stress that having uh such a small oversight agency have to participate in the savings uh program is significantly impactful in a negative way. We already are stripped bare at our with our resources. So to have to identify um vacancies and and and savings for resources that we already don't have is very difficult. So, I'll turn it over to Tiana. >> Hi, Chair Brooks Powers. So, as the board's chief savings officer, I'm responsible for implementing the city savings director for the New York City Board of Correction. The board has been asked to achieve savings of roughly $60,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $100,000 in fiscal year 2027 and the outy years, including a 50% reduction in city- funded vacancies. To meet these targets, the board is taking a vacancy based approach. We are prioritizing the retention of two correctional standards review specialist positions that are essential to frontline monitoring and our chartermandated oversight responsibilities while identifying savings through the director of research and computer aid positions which were not fully funded. Additional savings are reflected within nonftng which include um typically supporting salary related adjustments and unfil unfulfilled salary allocations. Um, since these funds are not currently supporting active staff, they will be used to help us meet savings targets. Um, and at this time, the board is in the final stages of the interview process for the two correctional standards review specialist positions. Um, I'd also like to note that, uh, you know, as we are a small independent oversight body, our staffing is directly tied to our ability to maintain a consistent presence in facilities and carry out our charter mandate. Reductions of this nature have more immediate impact on our operations compared to larger agencies with broader staffing structures. Um we are moving forward to meeting these required savings targets while remaining focused on preserving our core oversight functions. >> No, thank you for that and um thank you for being so candid. Uh I quite honestly share the concerns that you are expressing in terms of what that impact would be um on the board. So again, thank you for being forthcoming and candid on that topic. Um, I'm going to pivot to headcount. So as of January, the board had an actual headcount of 29 out of the 33 budgeted positions filled, and I know you said you have two that are in the final phase right now. Would you say that the board of correction is sufficiently staffed? >> No, I would not say that. Um I I I emphasized in my testimony that this is a lean new needs request. We are being practical and conservative given the you know the the limitations that we were were given in terms of the saving program. But in order to produce more assessment reports and and have more uh ability to tour and and produce public reporting to the to the best of our ability to meet the mandate of the charter, we would need additional additional step even above what we're asking for in our new needs requests. But we did work within the confines that we were given. >> Appreciate that. And is there a reason the board has um had a difficult time recruiting staff to fill these positions >> in terms of >> just in general like where you where you are right now that you have vacancies. I'm assuming that it's been because some of the other agencies have been having a hard time filling their vacancies as well. >> Uh I will say one of the largest uh constraints are due to the OMB par process. It has taken quite some time to get um just an approval. We have candidates that are sitting in the pipeline ready to go, ready to start after recruitment and the the interview stages and we are just waiting what seems like months for approval process. >> I was about to say on average how long? So it's months sometimes. >> Yeah, it could be longer than a month at times. Yeah, >> sounds right. I remember when I worked at the mayor's office took a couple months too. Um what type of outreach does the board do to fill vacant positions? So we post on New York City jobs website. Um we work through smart recruiters. We post at work. So you know 55A programs and things like that. Reaching out to CUNI Sunnis postings and internships and other areas. >> Okay. >> Primarily to uh attract diverse candidates across the board. >> Okay. In the last year the board has received baseline funding for three existing one-year funded positions. Do these positions remain filled today? I think that I I think you're talking about a special investigations coordinator um and maybe a a research associate as well and a monitoring uh correctional standards review uh specialists and and yes, they do. And I just I really do want to commend the small staff that we do have. They are very committed. They impact the people in in custody, their lives. they they create change and and they care for the humanity of the people um in the jails and so I really commend the work that they they do with the limited resources that we have. >> Thank you. I'm going to pivot to the remediation manager. Has the board of correction leadership met with the remediation manager? >> Yes, we had a a meet and greet with the remediation manager. Is there a plan to coordinate with the remediation manager moving forward? >> I think at this stage the remediation manager is in the planning phase of of preparing his uh action plan for the court and I think we both understand that the remediation manager and the board have two distinct roles. uh the remediation manager is responding to federal court uh orders and the board's mandate has to do with the uh minimum standards and the charter mandate that we have for the conditions of f of confinement and so we are going to move forward working in partnership and uh we will offer whatever help we can provide to the remediation manager and I hope and I I I believe based on the meeting that we had that the same will extend to the board and and helping to further compliance with the minimum standards. >> Thank you for that. Um and I'm going to pivot now to the burrowbased jails. Can you please describe the role the board has taken with regard to the burrowbased jails and have you been in discussions with the department of corrections or involved in any of the planning? >> Yes. I'm gonna turn it over to our assistant executive director of monitoring, Katrina Blackman. >> Good afternoon, chair. Good afternoon, everyone. >> Yes, to first answer your question, uh, according to local law 192 of 2019, we are responsible and are required to, uh, report on the progress of the burrow-based jail's uh, status semianually. So typically what we do we have meetings that are hosted by the department where they provide us updates also in partnership with uh correctional health services quarterly. So uh once every 3 months or so we have these progress uh updates with uh the department of correction and actually uh coincidentally we are scheduled for one later on this week. So, they have been very transparent and letting us know the updates of each construction site, uh, capital budget, um, and just any overall concerns that may be coming up, uh, throughout the course of of the quarters. So, they've been cooperative in that sense. If the board was able to receive the requested funding to have additional headcount added, how would you fill the roles for those positions? I would fill each unit that we have. So I would put people in monitoring. We would enhance our monitoring uh team. We would enhance our research team. We would enhance our special investigations team, our administration team, and our IT team. We currently have one designated person. And like I said, we're requesting a a $2.1 million uh new IT system so that we would be able to enhance the reporting that we do, the tracking, the identification of trends. Right now, we do uh what we can with what we have. We report out at our our public meetings different issues that our monitors are observing. So definitely more people to be able to observe on a continuous routine way what's going on in the jail so that we could also report out in a continuous way and be able to analyze those trends and and and data. Thank you. That's all the questions we have for this panel. We appreciate the testimony and look forward to working more closely with the board um as we get closer to closing Rikers and transition to borrow based jails and ensuring that we are changing the culture in in this space. So thank you and the panel is uh released. >> Thank you. Thank you. Okay, we're going to move into the public testimony portion of today's hearing. I now open the hearing for public testimony. I remind members of the public that this is a formal government proceeding and the decorum shall be observed at all times. As such, members of the public shall remain silent at all times. The witness table is reserved for people who wish to testify. No video recording or photography is allowed from the witness table. Further, members of the public may not present audio or video recordings as testimony, but may submit transcripts of such recordings to the sergeant-at-arms for inclusion in the hearing record. If you wish to speak at today's hearing, please fill out an appearance card with the sergeant-at-arms and wait to be recognized. When recognized, you will have two minutes to speak on today's hearing topic. If you have a written statement or additional written testimony you wish to submit for the record, please provide a copy of that testimony to the sergeant at arms. You may also email written testimony to testimony@counsel.nyc.gov within 72 hours of this hearing. Audio and video recordings will not be accepted. We'll now call the first panel. Benny Boscow cor um from the correction officers benevolent association. Delaney Powell, the United Probation Officers Association. Dejon Williams, president of local 299 of DC37. We ask that everyone please adhere to the clock and if you have additional testimony, you can always submit it in writing afterwards. Thank you. And you can begin once you're ready. Just turn on the mic. Good afternoon, chair. If I could get a little bit of extra time, please. Good afternoon, Chairwoman Brooks Powers and members of this committee. My name is Benny Bosio Jr. I am the president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, the second largest law enforcement union in the city of New York. Our members, as you know, provide care, custody, and control of approximately 6,800 inmates daily. New York City correction officers are essential first responders. 85% of our members are black and Hispanic and approximately 50% of our officers are female. In short, we are the most diverse uniform force in the city of New York. Our number one mission is to ensure the jails are safe for everyone while ensuring the people in our custody receive all the services and programming they are entitled to and they are safely escorted to and from their medical appointments and their court appearance. As far as programming is concerned, the department literally provides dozens and dozens of programs to people in our custody. And each of our facilities also provides their own programs that include re-entry support to assist people in custody re-enter their communities. Support for single mothers, support for LGBTQ individuals, mentoring programs for young people, programs to reduce residivism, programs for veterans, programs that provide canine therapy to help inmates manage stress, anxiety and depression, faith-based programs, and programs to help people with alcohol and drug addictions. These are just a few examples of the 20 to 30 programs provided to the thousands of people in our custody. And not even one of these programs can operate without enough correction officers to provide safety and security with most programs requiring anywhere between two to four correction officers at any given time and sometimes more. And this does not include the many services we provide which are consistent with the department's minimum standards. This also does not include unexpected incident. >> I'm sorry, Benny, but we do have your testimony in writing. I want to be respectful, so I'm going to let you have a summation of what you're going to do because the testimony that you have is a bit long. >> Yeah. Um, look, um, while our members provide these essential services, we're dealing with the challenges of a very dangerous environment that comes with supervising a population where 70% of our people in custody are facing violent felony charges. Last year, there were over 660 assaults on correction officers committed by people in our custody, including 25 sexual assaults on our female officers, over 170 spitting incidents, over 260 splashing incidents, over 150 slashing incidents, over 120 stabbing incidents, and over 500 pieces of weapons and drugs recovered by our officers. In fact, we are we recover weapons and drugs in our facilities daily. In the first three months of this year, we have already seen over 140 assaults on correction officers. In fact, within just this past week, a female correction officer was slashed just below her eye by an inmate. In addition to these violent conditions, we are still suffering from a severe staffing crisis. Our workforce is down approximately 40% from 2020. We have approximately 5,000 officers working across three tours of >> I'm sorry. I ask that you wrap up, please. >> You know what, Chairwoman Powers, um, Brooks Powers, I'll submit my testimony. as one of the largest stakeholders that's involved that represents the correction officers, I do believe we should be part of the main agenda so that we I can really give you there were a lot of questions asked by your your um committee that could have been answered by the union. Um and I feel that all too often we are kind of put on the back burner. It was very important for me to do my entire testimony which probably would have been about five minutes. Um, you know, it's just unfair. >> No. And I understand >> and I want to respect everybody's time here, >> but you know, your committee doesn't even stay around to hear the union, >> right? And we we're we're the ones us and the people in custody are suffering the most. And and trust me, I understand and I want to be respectful of you as well as everyone who has signed up and will respect the two-minute timeline for that. We do have your testimony in writing in the future. What I ask that you do is if you would like additional time for you to put that request in advance so we can work to accommodate you. I have no problems of working to accommodate where we can. But because these hearings do run long and people wait here from the beginning of the hearing and I understand that you have to leave a bit early today yourself, I don't want to disrespect anyone's time here. And please don't take this as being disrespectful to you or the correction officers because again we do have your testimony. It was emailed to me earlier. I've already submitted it for the record. Um, and to your point in terms of some of the things that could be answered in these moments, we can have exchange and I will ask questions through these hearings of you from your perspective as well. But we also need to leave time to have that discourse. And so I just want to again be respectful because if I do that for you to give you five minutes, everybody else here that wants five minutes, I have to give it to them too. So I I do apologize but again in the future we will work to coordinate this better. Okay. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Good afternoon Chair Brooks Powers and esteemed members of the committee. My name is Dy Powell. I'm the president of the United Probation Officer Association representing supervising probation officers, probation officer trainee, probation officer assistants, and every day our members work hard to give New Yorkers involved in criminal justice system a second chance while balancing the need to keep our community safe. Thank you for this opportunity to testify on why the city must invest in department of probation. Since the since the appointment of Commissioner Chiron Goodwin, we have seen meaningful progress in this short period of time. Admin administrative processes are are improving including a more responsive HR unit. Faster resolutions. Disciplinary matters are being resolved. Movement on long-standing grievances. Family court staffing has been strengthened. Recruitment is ongoing and training academy has been reduced to 68 weeks. We also engaged in productive discussions around scheduling, uniform safety policies. Experienced staff who have left under provisions leaderships are beginning to return to the agency. However, despite the progress the department has made in the critical state today there are there are less than 600 supervising probation officers and pro probation officers while the head counts are supposed to be according to OMB 845. Within weeks we expect to lose dozens of more probation officers and parole off probation officers and supervisors to parole department of corrections NYPD and neighbor and probation departments. Officers are not leaving because they want to. They're leaving because of our salaries and are significantly lower than other law enforcement agencies despite requiring a college education. As documented by the state controller, the Department of Probation has had the highest attrition rate. Our workforce is predominately women and people of color and we have we have been in pay equity litigation since 2019. As the city focuses on affordability and pay and pay equity, we must be a part of that commitment. Resolving the issue is essential in stabilizing workforce and supporting the commissioner's vision for the agency. In conclusion, officer staff with helping individuals stabilize their lives while keeping our neighborhood safe. We are asking that the city and the city the city council and the mayor's office to stabilize the workforce by addressing pay equity and investing in the retention. I thank you and I'm open for questioning. >> Thank you. Good afternoon, council. My name is Djon Williams. I'm local president of 299, representing recreation workers in the Department of Corrections, which are chaplain, recreation directors, and recreation supervisors. My members are tasked with providing recreation and prayer services to persons in custody in highly dangerous and unusual settings, which include housing units and prayer locations. uh they are in close quarters daily with said uh persons in in custody and due to a retaining issue, a retention issue, excuse me, uh my members are highly overworked and underpaid. They provide enhanced recreation services which is committed to creating a meaningful and uplifting and community building experience for those persons in custody. Uh some of those programs are debates which the inmates are given specific topics to discuss, support groups, chess tournaments, uh family days which host events that do arts and crafts, fatherdaughter dances in collaboration with council teams, suicide prevention, um substance abuse and sexual assault awareness. I come here today to ask for sorry I come here today to ask for a a help with this retention issue and pay issue. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. And I do have a follow-up question for each of those who testify. Um, as we've been talking about the the vacancies that exist in correction, probation, and recreation, h are the unions engaged at all in terms of the recruitment efforts by the department? Like, does the department reach out and identify ways that they can do a better job with the recruitment efforts? >> We've had some conversations with the department in terms of recruitment. We made some suggestions. >> What are those suggestions? um you know to do more based commercials that kind of deal with um the minority based officers to attract right because 85% of our members are um black and Hispanic like I mentioned 65% of our members live in the in the city of New York. Um dealing with colleges and military bases we've suggested better commercials to kind of attract people. Um we we need a better pension system. They've just enhanced the pension for uh fire FDNY and the police department. >> I put in a resolution on that by the way. Yes. >> To support that >> because you know we need to make the job more attractive and those benefits given to them and not us that we've maintained parody for many years with them kind of puts us at a disadvantage and no one has um a more severe staffing crisis in the city than we do. So, I've been in conversation with the um um with the recent administration and past administrations about recruitment and retention. Matter of fact, we have a follow-up meeting coming up on Friday. So, we've talked about promoting better um ways of promoting. They're starting to go into the colleges and trying to recruit from there as well um to make the job more attractive. Our main issue is salary and like I said in my testimony, we're in the midst of a um litigation right now for pay parody and um I I attached the charts for you for your review for you to look at and plus city council did a a report back in 2021 and 2018 which supports our argument. So that's the main reason that we have a issue with retention is because the salaries are so so so so far less than others. um along with the fact that you have to have a college degree. So I I'm my concern is that all right so recently I did a contract negotiations the starting salaries is now 60 some 61,000 which is good but compared to corrections and police and outside burrows we're going to get lost in the sauce again. So now I have a step in place for 11 years but it takes 11 years to get to $81,000 for a probation officer 11 years for a supervisor probation officer. 95,000 and that's recent >> and that's recent. So that's one of our problems. But the recruitment um any chance we get we try to um give out input and the good thing the department doesn't want to tell you is that they have supervising probation officers a part of the interviewing process which is good to wean out the people. >> Thank you for that. >> For our recreation staff, retention is an issue due to pay as well. Um some of my members make under $60,000 a year. I was going to say what's the starting >> is 57. Um their counterparts in other agencies make upward closely to 80,000. It's about 78 to 79. Um and then we have that same issue with the choice of working in recreation or going into corrections. They're going to make the corrections pull more times than not. Um we haven't been invited to do much helping to recruit. Um but we do have a meeting coming up in the next month where we will give some options of possibilities but the pay is is one of the biggest problems. >> Okay. And earlier today we heard from the commissioner and his team in terms of when we look at recruitment of correction officers in particular the conditions and the safety piece comes up often. Has the union provided any guidance to Department of Corrections on how they can um address the the environment or the culture within Rikers? >> Well, in terms of the violence, I mean, you know, we've um have addressed the um I'm sorry, could you repeat your question? I just got got lost there. No, I was just saying that earlier today like the commissioner and his team had mentioned that a part of the challenges they have in um recruitment has been that people don't feel safe in those roles and so I wanted to know has there been any efforts by the department to work with the union in terms of addressing some of that? Have you given recommendations even in terms of some of the things to address and reduce like the assaults that are happening on the correction offices that would make the job more more um >> make people more interested in these opportunities? >> Yeah, I mean safety is the main issue, right? Fixing the cell doors as you guys have um talked about and I think the commissioner said it would take 10 years to fix all the cell doors. um you know, fixing the cell doors and the amount of money that the city is going to spend on burrow-based jail should shouldn't be mutually exclusive, right? Like if we're not getting off the island, there needs to be a priority on fixing cell doors. Um the population can pop out with it with, you know, out of the cells with a fork. Um not to mention that there are no more viable deterrence in place, right? We talk about crimes being committed in jail and crimes in jail are treated differently than they are in the state of New York in the city, right? And they shouldn't be be treated, right? When crimes are committed in jails and there's um person in custody, person in custody stabbing or slashing or person in custody to correction officer. Um yes, there's a rearrest process, but the rearrest results in um concurrent sentencing. So there's no consecutive sentency. There's no added um time to that and I think the population realizes that. So if there's no deterrence in place, how is anybody going to change behavior? How do we create safety when there are no viable consequences anymore for those actions? And we've suggested we've we've pleaded. I mean, the assaults speak for themselves, right? The numbers I'm giving you are accurate numbers. 660 assaults last year and 140 already in three months time. You know, there's no deterrence in place. So, we're constantly asking the question, what are we going to be do? What's going to be done here to deter behavior? No, thank you for that. And then my last question for this panel is around the federal monitor. Just wanting to understand if there is a role for the unions to play in the conversations with the remediation man manager to your knowledge and have you met with him? Has he met with the unions at all? >> We met with the remediation manager briefly uh about a week ago. >> Um you know it was a good meeting. He's he's not settled yet. I think it's a couple weeks before he actually gets um settled, but we will be having consistent meetings with him and the commissioner. Can I add to something I wanted to bring to your attention? Um, we had a more in my opinion a more con a more structured electronic monitoring program during during co the one that was the recent electronic monitoring that we have now. We wasn't really we wasn't a part of it was mentioned to us under the previous administration and then our concern was the staffing issue. It's not structured the way it was in during the co and I just wanted to bring that to your attention. Um and we didn't um meet with anybody about anything. Um it's a good program. I think it's a very good program that needs to be looked at and reassessed for probation department. But I just want to bring something to your attention before I came here today when you spoke about safety. Um probation is the scale of justice, right? So we have to balance and I keep hearing the social work. There is a social work component to us because we have to help with the rehabilitation component. Before I came here today, I had to run to Brooklyn because one of my my female um supervisors was tackled by a probationer who was trying to escape while they was trying to place him under arrest for a warrant. >> So, people tend not to think about us and our safety. And I've had many officers have been hurt and injured in the midst of working more so in the office than they do in in the um than they do in the field. So I need to um for the the city council and the city to understand that probation officers deal with the same exact element. I'm going to finish element as um no my message every time. Sorry as Benny and and his team because it's just we're we're community corrections and they deal with the inside part of it. So I just wanted to bring that clear to um the city council that we have our same problems as the rest of the law enforcement. No, thank you for um >> and when we talk about retention and y'all talked about relationships earlier, understand we have to build relationships with the clients, right? So, every time there's a probation officer that leaves, that has to start all over again because we have to build trust because they've been through so many systems that disappoint them or failed them. So, when they get with this probation officer, we build them trust. We're building supervision plans. We're trying to get them on the right track. And what happens? They're gone again. Last week alone, council member, nine people put in for their their resignation. One one unit alone in Queens has she has no probation officers come next week. None. Wiped out. >> Oh, that's not good. Um Okay. And is there ways that the council can support the recruitment efforts too? Because I know in the last administration there was these um burrowwide like recruitment efforts and things like that. Um, do you see the unions working with the respective departments and doing forward facing things like that again? >> Yeah, I got some ideas, you know, and I'd love to sit with the city council as well so we can all brainstorm because it takes a village, right? So, we're not on this in in it by ourselves. So, I would love to do something like that. >> Absolutely. We've done some community based stuff and going with the department to promote the job with some of our fraternal organizations >> um in different communities that is actively going on right now. Um you know you were part of the council last time and we appreciated the unanimous vote that we got for the home rule message under our 20-year pension bill. Um unfortunately the governor vetoed that. Um, so we we we would ask the council if for help in reaching out to state legislators and the governor's office to please give us that uh 20-year pension bill so that we can make the job more attractive. >> Absolutely. >> And the recreation unit, we have not had um a meeting uh but again we do have something we have some dates planned for the next month. So hopefully we can get we can get in and sit down and have a discussion on some ways to fix things. Um, some years back we requested having persons in custody move to different units where they can get recreation activities to make it a little safer. But again, that goes hand in hand with the correction officers having the amount of staff to actually be able to move them from a unit to another unit. And if you don't have the amount the right amount of officers to cover and move that that just can't happen. And my members are literally in their housing spaces giving them recreation activities. No, thank you for that. Thank you for your testimony today and looking forward to the continued conversation. This panel is dismissed. Thank you. >> Thank you for your time. The next panel we're going to call up Michael Clinger, Damon Gilbert, Stephanie Taylor, Caprice Jennerson, Julia Davis, Karen Adelman with the New York City Bar Association, you get started. You can just turn on the mic whenever you're ready. Uh good afternoon and thank you to Chair Brooks Powers and the committee uh committee staff for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Michael Clinger. I'm a jail services attorney with Brooklyn Defenders. To begin, we acknowledge several promising signs of change in the department since the arrival of Commissioner Richards. He's committed to use his office's powers under correction law article 6A to identify and release people who can safely be managed in the community. The department is committed to reviving a collaborative working group of families, community members, advocates, and department staff to address concerns around visiting loved ones in the jails. And the department has moved to improve lines of communication between attorneys representing people in custody and department leadership. These are each promising steps, but much more is needed. First, we must reduce the jail population because time spent in custody harms all people and particularly those with medical or mental health needs. The most important thing the city can do is focus on decarceration. In addition to a population reduction of several hundred under 6A, this effort must include fully staffing and opening the long delayed outposted therapeutic beds at Belleview and expediting the opening of the units at Woodhull and North Central Bronx, all years behind schedule. Even once completed, these units will account for fewer than 400 beds, which is as insufficient as it is necessary. Next, we must protect all New Yorkers by ensuring that the department's contractors don't violate sanctuary laws. Our understanding is that telephone service provider Securus currently stores and mines all jail calls for data that it then may sell or otherwise share, possibly as an additional revenue generating product. Its clients include federal agencies charged with civil immigration enforcement, which means that New York City is potentially violating its sanctuary laws every time someone makes a phone call from the jails. Finally, treat trans people with safety, dignity, and respect. We urge the council to pass intro 134 to require that people in custody are housed in accordance with their gender identity. This is a life-saving law that is consistent with city and state human rights laws that protect trans people outside of jails so we can give it the force of law and protect everyone in city custody from harm. >> Thank you. >> Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Karen Adelman and I'm a co-chair for the New York City Bar Association's Corrections and Community Re-ent-ry Committee. And at this time with a new administration, New York City really faces a pivot a pivotal opportunity to reform our correctional oversight system. Persistent crises in our jails range from staffing shortages, missed appointments, inconsistent programming to dangerous unsanitary conditions, visit denials, and deaths of people in custody. The Nunes case and the recent appointment of Mr. DML as the federal remediation manager have really laid bare the systemic challenges and revealed the structural weaknesses in accountability and governance. But against the backdrop of these challenges, the city charter already provides a mechanism to foster a more humane and just criminal justice system, enshrining the board of correction as the city's independent oversight body for correctional facilities. Um, the BOC has been charged with this important role for decades and will continue to perform those chartermandated functions long after Mr. Demol's tenure has concluded. This drastic step of appointing the remediation manager should itself make clear how important it is to strengthen the BOC's capacity to execute its mandate of oversight. To this end, we urge the council to the ensure that the BOC has resources it needs to perform its important duties. As you heard the BOC describe its mandate when they spoke, it's vast um and their outdated technology really severely hampers their ability to manage the voluminous amount of material generated by their monitoring. This deficiency slows down operations and limits the potential insights that can be drawn from the data, which in turn hamstrings the BOC's ability to ensure compliance with its minimum standards and thwarts the capacity to develop or implement innovations to meet real-time challenges. We believe it is essential the next city's budget give BOC resources to update the sorely outdated technology it currently uses for such critical data collection and management. And as you heard them speak in their own testimony, the $2.1 million needed just for that is a minute fraction of the AY's budget that they oversee. Um, I will submit the rest of my testimony, but we also believe that adequate staffing levels are very essential, especially given the transition to the new buroughbased jails, which will be even more geographically dispersed. Thank you. >> Thank you for that. >> Good afternoon. Thank you, chair and committee members. I'm Julia Davis. I'm the executive director of Youth Represent. And I want to focus my testimony on adolescence and young adults, over represented throughout the system from arrest through incarceration and who represent hundreds and hundreds of young people on Riker's Island today. Youth represent serves adolescence and young adults through age 26. And I want to just take a moment to reflect on how little has been focusing um our resources on adolescence and young adults. The city has never gotten any raise the age money even though the law has been on the books since 2018. We have seen a systematic sort of pullback of city funding for young people in the juvenile justice system. We're dealing with the impacts of COVID which although they are six years old, we're looking at adolescence and young adults that had their adolescence and young years like severely impacted by the COVID pandemic. And most importantly, the last administration reduced significantly in Department of Probation and other parts of city government the investments in young people that keep them out of the system. When we think about the hundreds of thousands of dollars we spend on incarcerating young people, we have to think about the opportunity for reinvestment, not only in ATD and ATIS, which bring young people home, but in a really robust continuum of services that keep kids in school, connect them with work, resolve mental mental health issues, address family dynamics, and are going to move our young people in the right direction. So, I urge you to take a look at a new report that came out from the New York City Youth Justice Coalition. This landscape report, which will be included in my testimony, outlines some very specific areas for reinvestment that the budget should include. I'll just highlight a few of them for you today, particularly in the Department of Probation where we saw a significant divestment from young people. Bringing back programs like Neon Works, Works Plus, AIM, Impact, Arches, Next Steps. These are programs that have been proven to have an impact on community safety and young people. And so I'm looking forward to working with you on a budget that brings those things forward. Thank you. >> Thank you. Did you give the sergeants a copy? >> Yes, it's coming. Thank you so much. >> I was looking for it. Go ahead. >> Good afternoon and thank you for an opportunity to testify. I am Caprice Jennerson. and I am the president and attorney in charge of the office of the appellet defender, also known as OAD. OAD has existed for nearly 40 years in the criminal legal space to ensure that justice does not end at conviction and sentence. We represent individuals after sentencing to correct legal errors, to enforce constitutional rights, and uphold the integrity of the criminal legal system. We are one of the few organizations in New York City dedicated exclusively to appellet and postconviction representation and that focus matters. Appellet work requires specialized expertise, sustained attention and a long-term commitment to each case. It is also mandated representation. When someone cannot afford counsel, the city has an obligation to provide representation not only at a jury trial but also on appeal. And yet criminal appallet defense does not receive the same level of investment or visibility as other parts of the system. At OAD, we are a small, highly specialized team. We train the next generation of appellet advocates. We carry complex cases that span many years. We support our clients not only in court but as they prepare to return to their communities. And that work strengthens public safety, promotes fairness, and builds trust in the legal system. But we are doing that work in a funding structure that has not kept pace with reality. Flat contracts, rising cost, and a lack of parity across the legal system create structural gaps that make it difficult to sustain the workforce and services required to meet our mandate. That's not a budget issue. That's an issue of equity. If appellet representation is required, as it is, it must be adequately resourced. If we expect highquality advocacy, we must invest in the people and the systems that make it possible. and I appreciate the opportunity to testify. Thank you. >> Ready for you and I believe Stephanie Taylor is in the room. You can come because you were called as a part of this panel. Go ahead. >> Cool. Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. Uh my name is Damon Gilberts. I'm an attorney with New York lawyers for the public interest. Um I'm here to talk about Riker's conditions. Riker uh continues to expose thousands of New Yorkers to dangerous and deteriorating conditions. Um and these harms are not incidental. They are systemic and ongoing. Um at the same time, the city continues to invest considerable resources into this system while failing to deliver safety or stability of any kind. Um, despite the level of spending, people remain trapped in conditions that expose them to mold, contaminated water, extreme temperatures, polluted air, and violence, often because the systems that would allow them to leave or avoid incarceration altogether are underfunded or unavailable. To improve safety and meet the city's legal obligations to close Rikers by 2027, the budget should prioritize safely reducing the jail population. First, the city should take immediate steps to continue expanding the release uh programs like 6A and ensuring people are discharged with connections to community based care and housing. Second, the city should invest in alternatives to incarceration programs. Um third, the city should invest in mental health services like additional intensive mobile treatment teams, forensic assertive community treatment teams, and residential treatment beds. Uh, the path to closing Rikers runs through these investments and I ask that this council work to align the budget with that goal. >> Thank you. >> You finish? Okay. >> Good afternoon, Chair P. Books Powers and the members of the city council. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Stephanie Taylor and I serve as the director of the incarcerated mother's law project and volunteers of legal service or VAS. For over 40 years, VS has partnered with CBOS and the private bar to provide free civil legal services to New Yorkers who otherwise cannot afford or access representation. For more than 20 years, the V's incarcerated mother's law project has helped individuals incarcerated in New York New York's women's prisons and jails, including the Rose Manger Center, RMSSC, on Riker's Island with our family law needs. Through this work, we regularly meet parents who are trying to maintain relationships with their children while navigating incarceration, family court, and re-entry. And what we see is a crisis that goes unnoticed. The steady erosion of family relationships who when parents become involved in the criminal legal system, structural support for parents before, during, and after incarceration is extremely limited to non-existent. Family court and foster care timelines continue to run while parents are being held in custody. Communication with caregivers and children becomes difficult and guidance about parental rights is rights is scarce. Many parents lose contact with their children or worse, lose their parental rights altogether without ever receiving meaningful legal information or assistance. At RMSC, our team meets many mothers and parents hoping to understand how to protect their parental rights. While our legal clinics and the great work of institutional legal services providers and social services organizations such as our children and Osborne Association provide critical support, they are only small intervention in a much larger systemic problem. To address this gap, the sh city should take three key steps. One, fund programs that provide family law assistance specifically for incarcerated parents. Two, invest more in community- based organizations to develop family law advisory services. And three, ensure that parents receive clear information about their parental rights and family court obligations at sentencing or at the earliest stages of custody. When parents become involved in the criminal legal system, they should not lose the chance to remain part of their children's lives. With earlier support and targeted investment, New York City can take meaningful steps to preserve these vital family connections. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. And did you submit that in writing as well? >> I will do so. Yes. >> Okay. And everyone submitted theirs in writing. Okay. Because I only got a few up here, so I just wanted to make sure. Thank you. This panel is dismissed. We'll call up the next panel. >> Zachary Nelson. Zachary Katz Nelson with the Independent Rikers Commission. Megan Marcelin, New York City ATI Coalition, Amanda McCarthy, Cases. Louisa Tveras, Women's Prison Association, Regginald Chapman, the Future, excuse me, the Fortune Society. And Zachary, you can get started by turning on the mic whenever you're ready. All right. Good afternoon, Chair Brooks Browers. Uh, thanks for the opportunity to testify. Zachary Katz Nelson with the Independent Rikers Commission. Just building off your questions on overtime earlier about truth in budgeting. Seems to me that maybe a challenge could be put to the department to actually look at the subpopuls within the department. For instance, people with serious mental illness, people with addiction. How much are they actually spending to take care of those folks to provide services to provide services while people are in jail? And think about re-entry plans for when they get out with the goal of course being that they never come back into jail. What would it actually take? What are they spending now? And what is the goal? And then what would the budget be to actually match that? Because right now we have a budget that is a cookie cutter from prior years, right? It doesn't have the stamp of Commissioner Richards. It doesn't have the changes that he might want to see. He just started a few days before it was released. But what we what are we actually building for as a city right now? Riker's budget and Riker's reality is so much about putting out the fires of the day, those steam pipes that burst, whatever it is, but not stepping back and actually planning. And if we're going to get out of the mess we're in, we're going to need to have that and a budget that actually matches, a budget that actually truthfully meets the needs safety wise and service-wise inside the jail. This budget is not there yet. And just wanted to mention a note on recruitment and retention. One thing that our commission has talked about and pushed, we may have had a chance to discuss a little bit is this. I have a GI bill for people that work in in the correctional world, health care staff, recreational staff, officers, people on probation, whatever it is that maybe they're not going to stay 20 years or 22 years or whatever till the pension. Maybe they stay three or five years. Hopefully, they stay longer, but after that, they get assistance just like a soldier might, right? with home mortgage loan, with a small business loan, with something that'll move them as a stepping stone to something else. Maybe that'll help bring people in. Hopefully, they stay again, but at least start with recruitment. It's not just about pensions and dollars. Obviously, that would help, but maybe a different way of thinking about how to bring people into that community of work. >> Thank you so much. Thank you, Chair Brooks Powers and staff of the committee. My name is Megan French Marcelen. Today I testify on behalf of the New York City Alternatives to Incarceration and Re-entry Coalition. We are a network of 12 organizations that provide supports to justice involved New Yorkers. In fiscal year 25, our organizations serve more than 68,000 New York City residents. New York City stands at a pivotal moment in its criminal justice reform journey. The long overdue closure of Riker's Island forces us to confront a fundamental question. What does real safety look like and for whom? Because the truth is we cannot jail our way to safety. Riker's Island has come to symbolize the worst failures of our criminal legal system. a place defined by horrific conditions, systemic abuses, and a culture of impunity. This is a system that perpetuates harm, not safety. It is why the city must invest in community-based alternatives. Research clearly demonstrates that these programs reduce the likelihood of future convictions, decrease homelessness and psychiatric hospitalizations, increase connections to essential services, and foster civic engagement. These programs are as costefficient as they are effective, and yet we sit here facing 4.6 million in cuts in the preliminary budget. We are seeking restoration and a $20 million increase in ATI and re-entry services from the administration. From the New York City Council, the New York City ATI coalition is requesting an additional $2.4 million increase across our 12 organizations because we have a choice before us. continue a cycle that has failed for generations or invest in a future grounded in care, accountability, and true safety. I urge you to choose the latter. >> Thank you. >> Good afternoon, uh, Chair Brooks Prow and members of the Committee on Criminal Justice. I am Amanda McCarthy, senior director and youth policy lead at Cases. Um, we served 12,000 New Yorkers last year with programs that supported their goals in uh prevent the trauma of incarceration. City council must ensure that the budget makes the necessary investments to close Riker's Island at a cost of nearly half a million dollars per person per year. Riker's Island is the most expensive and least effective tool that our city has to creating community safety. Unfortunately, key investments to reduce incarceration are missing from the preliminary budget. Cases is a proud member of the alternatives to incarceration and ATI re-entry coalition, an ecosystem of providers that provide public safety and community well-being. We are asking the administration for the restoration and expansion of funding for ATIS and re-entry services at MACHJ at 24.6 million increase from what is proposed in the budget. The coalition is requesting an additional $2.4 million increase in the ATI and re-entry programs initiative across our 12 organizations. The proposed $4.6 million cut to ATIS and re-entry programs must be reversed and funding must be increased by an additional 20 million to meet the needs of our communities. Cases operates a range of ATI programs which not only keep people out of uh incarceration but transform lives. In fiscal year 25 almost 2,300 people were able to avoid incarceration by participating in one of our ATI including Nathaniel Act. Um, among clients who successfully completed the program, none are reconvicted of a violent felony and less than 5% are reconvicted of any felony. The program decreases homelessness by 70% and cut psychiatric hospitalizations in half. We can uh urge the city to um fund these programs. In addition to supporting ATI and reantry services, the city can further p improve public safety and community well-being by fully funding assertive community treatment act and intensive mobile treatment IMT programs to end the wait list for services, expand access to mental health services for young people by doubling funding for the court involved youth mental health initiative and supporting ACS's proposal to expand cases ACES program uh to serve more preventive youth. Thank you. >> Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Louisa Tavas and I am the interim CEO of Women's Prison Association, Chair Brooks Powers. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. Founded by Quaker abolitionists and prison reformers in 1845, WPA has spent over a century challenging the systemic inequalities that push women, especially black and brown women, into the criminal legal system. The population of women in New York City jails had been steadily declining prior to the Adams administration. Sadly, over the past four years, the number of women detained on Riker's Island has more than doubled. This increase is concerning, especially given that there is clear evidence that community-based alternatives are more effective in preventing women from future contract contact with the criminal legal system and in promoting their long-term stability. New York City has not prioritized funding for organizations like WPA, which aim to safely reduce the population at Rosem Singer Center, Rosies, the women's facility on Riker's Island through community-based diversion and re-entry supports. Instead, it appears that the city has adopted a jail's first approach um exemplified by the Department of Corrections plan to triple triple the number of beds at the new women's jail to be built in Q Gardens. This shift undermines the very community infrastructure that offers women the safe and supportive pathways out of the criminal legal system. A different approach is not only possible, it already exists. WPA meets women and gender expansive people where they are by providing trauma-informed, gender responsive support before, during, and after incarceration, including comprehensive case management, trauma-informed clinical care, and stable housing. This helps them reclaim stability and opportunity. This year, we are asking the administration for the restoration and expansion of funding for ATIS and re-entry services at Mach J at 24.6 million increase from what is proposed and asking the coalition. In addition, the coalition is requesting 2.4 million increase and alternatives to incarceration and re-entry programs. We are also requesting that the speaker's initiative to launch to support the launch of a mothers and families together a diversion pro program for incarcerated mothers on Riker's Island. And finally, WPA seeks council funding for two key pillars of our stabilizing model, trauma-informed clinical care and supportive housing. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Uh good afternoon, Chair Book Powers and members of the committee on public safety. Uh, thank you for the opportunity to talk about the for society's work and how ATI re-entry programs promote public safety and empower young people to build their lives. My name is Reggie Chapman. I am the director of policy at the for society's David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy. I'm also a formerly incarcerated person who spent 25 years in prison and so I have lived experience and professional experience with respect to this issue. I'll also refer to my written testimony as to be succinct. Uh for over 50 58 years, the for society has supported people returning from incarceration. In FY25, we serve over 18,000 people, including over 1,000 people through our ATI programs. We are also a proud member of the NYC ATI re-entry coalition, which collectively have served more than 30,000 people annually. Uh but to um truly enhance community safety, we can and we should be serving more people to reduce the number of people detained at Riker's Island and to enhance community safety. Uh therefore, we are requesting that this administration restore and expand funding for ATI re-entry services by providing 24.6 million more than they did in their preliminary budget proposal. We also specifically request 2.4 million increase in the city council's ATI and re-entry program initiative. We are grateful to the city council for standing with us in FY26 and we urge the council to do the same thing this year. Not just to prevent cuts, but to ensure expansion of this important work. Evidence shows that our programs work. In FY25, 83% of our participants completed ATRI programming and over 92% completed gun diversion programs. ATI re-entry service programs cost just a fraction of the $500,000 that it cost to incarcerate one person in Riker's Island. So, it makes sense financially to invest in ATI services as opposed to incarceration. We also urge the panel to incre to um to um provide 3 million more for the board of corrections to regulate, monitor, and inspect our city's correctional facilities. Thank you committee and chair Bill Powers for allowing me to testify. >> Thank you. I was trying to follow you. I'm like, wait, what's going on? Um, I thank you all for the work that you all are are doing and just wanted to ask a few follow-up questions. Um, and first of all, I really appreciated the ideas in terms of thinking outside of the box for recruitment opportunities and hope that the commissioner and his leadership team take some of that under advisement as well because we want to make sure that all stakeholders as it pertains to Rikers um in that space have the safety and the support that they need. Um obviously my focus has been really opening up those beds that exist right now as well um to start moving folks out and you know getting things back on track in terms of the construction for the burough based jails. But what's really important is getting the numbers of those that are in custody down. And so based on some of the testimony from the agencies earlier today, I just would like to hear some of the reaction from um the advocacy side in terms of h like what programs are I would say based on data really strong in terms of the work that they're doing to reduce and in terms of the efforts from the administration what more should we be investing in in terms of prioritizing because we know there's like a $5 billion deficit in the budget. So, everyone's going to be fighting for a piece of the pie across the different um categories in the budget. So, if we had to prioritize, where are we prioritizing most that's going to help us to achieve the goal to reduce the population on Riker's Island? >> Um, I'll take a crack at that first. Um, thank you for the really thoughtful question. Um, as I said, we served 68,000 people last year at a fraction of the cost that it takes to run our jails and prisons. Um, and last year we sat before council facing $17 million of cuts. And I I will say that as an advocate, it's frustrating to be here year after year fighting against cuts for programs that we know are more effective at as at public safety than our jails. Um, every year I'm sitting here talking about an increase that that amounts to about 7% of what DOC spends on overtime each month. our total ask across 12 organizations is about 7% of their overtime budget each month. And so when we're talking about reducing uh the size of budgets, it it is DOC's budget that we need to reduce and we need to be pouring millions and millions of dollars into these lifesaving programs because um I I I believe I told your staff um we are working on a costbenefit analysis with John J's data justice data for justice collaborative Um, and and part of the reason we want to do that is we've been able to show just how effective our programs are. But our our programs aren't just cheaper on the front end, right? We can take about 50 people through a program for the cost of one person spending a year on Rikers. That's already unconscionable. But we also build on the back end because people are connected to employment. they're not utilizing homeless shelters. They're not uh going to the emergency room as a form of health care because they're connected to Medicaid and other social safety net benefits. And so I think if we want to really transform our safety system, we have to think about it more holistically. We know what makes communities safe. It's people having access to the basic resources that every single person in New York should have as a human right. And to do that, we need to invest in programs that actually grow people, don't deplete them. >> Thank you for that. Anyone else want to add to it? >> I'd say something. Um, thank you. I feel like there's there's issues of of funding and there's also issues of connecting people to those programs and one of the real failures right now unfortunately is based part on your question of getting people to their video appointments to actually meet with providers right that that is a real failure right now inside we're missing these opportunities just an example supportive housing right we know how essential that is for people to have stability and care when they get out the the return rates right now of people with mental illness coming back to Riker's 47% % are back in Rikers within one year. Not just rearrested, reincarcerated within one year. That's a true failure across a whole range of systems. But supportive housing can pro provide incredible stabilization when it's possible. Last year there were a 109 people approved for supportive housing in Rikers. 14 were actually placed in supportive housing. Right. We have 4,000 plus vacant units across the city of supportive housing. We've only managed to place 14 people coming out of Rikers into >> Why is that? cuz I heard that statistic before and I thought it was mindblowing. But what what is the the hurdles that have to be met in order to get into that those housing? Because I feel the same way about the affordable housing just broadly speaking. You'll have a new development. I've seen it in my district and other places where we're building housing and then it takes months for like HPD to place someone through housing connect. So in terms of the support of housing, what has been the challenges that you've identified? >> Well, the first one is that out of the roughly thousand people, only about 265 were actually referred to a provider at all. So that that first step of actually letting providers in the community know this is a person who needs housing. That's missing. And that's a combination of it was correctional health services, now it's actually the Department of Social Services, HR. They're they're in charge now of making those referrals. They had not been consistently making those referrals. Part of the idea was consolidating taking away from CHS giving it to HR. Was that supposed to help? >> What triggers DSS to make the referral though like what is like walk me through that step so I can understand it. >> Sure. >> What like because we work with DSS all the time in my office. So, I'm just trying to understand how do they get triggered to know that this is someone that is formerly incarcerated that's eligible for supportive housing and need um what triggers that for that population? >> So, they will get the application completed application hopefully from correctional health services. So, correctional health services working with people in the jails to actually work on their applications. Once they're done, they are sending it to HA. H is actually the one who approves and decides what type of supportive housing would be appropriate for this person. It's then on them. They already have so they now have that person in their system. It's on them now to say, "Okay, we're going to reach out to providers and say, "Here's somebody who needs who needs this space. >> Will you interview them? Will you meet with them?" >> So that that that bureaucratic piece is not happening right now. M >> and that is is something I think we need to delve in frankly with HR about how do we improve that process and then there's a second piece about how hard it is for instance to interview people on Rikers not just in terms of getting people to the appointment but even making the appointment in the first place Riker requires the agency to give three different dates where they can hold time to meet with the person then they get back to them two weeks later three weeks later sometimes say okay we've chosen this one date for you you've had to hold them open the whole time and then if that person >> is that because of staffing shortage It's it's staffing shortage to some extent, but it's prioritization. It's like how are we going to if you know this is a new commissioner with a new vision. We're going to really work hard to get people into the care they need and figure out where they should be. And Riker is not the answer for people with profound mental illness. So hopefully this will become more of a priority. I think it wasn't enough of a priority under the prior administration to figure out how do we move people through the system as efficiently and quickly as possible. And is there a budgetary gap that exists or a legislative gap that would help to to your point make this process flow more seamless? Yeah. >> Or both. >> I think probably both. For instance, mandating that that the referrals happen with a certain reasonable period of time. Just like the council last year mandated that holistic assessments take place within 3 weeks for someone who might be referred to an ATI >> or six weeks if it's more complicated. that same process, which is great, that hasn't been implemented yet. That's another great example of something to push to make sure what is the funding necessary to make that happen to make sure we have the social workers, psychiatric professionals, whatever it is to make that happen. >> Along the same lines, >> recapturing, >> what could we do for referrals to supportive housing? What does H need to make these referrals? What does CHS need to actually complete the applications, make sure they have the staff, and then how do we get people actually connected and hopefully placed? And I'll just say one last piece of this is that there it is not easy to get someone coming out of Rikers placed in supportive housing. I think it is critical the justice involves supportive housing which this council has fought hard to increase the supply of and RFP just went out for 190 new beds that'll raise the total number of 310 beds across the city for dedicated to this population. The sooner those beds can come online the better. But that's only part of the city's promise. The city promised 500 of those beds back in 2019 as part of the plan's closed records. We're still 190 beds short. And so I think that's that's a funding issue as well. Like let's make make sure we can meet the needs of people to remember these are the people that are cycling in and out that aren't getting the care they need. The people we see on the street who are in complete distress, right? That's who we're talking about here. We have a much better answer. And at what rate um do you find that securing housing or going through one of the diversion programs has resulted in reducing resid recidivism? >> What rate is that what you're asking? >> Yeah. Do you have any data around that? So, um, in written testimony, we have stats from all of our member organizations, and we can send you more of those, but I think when we're talking about this population, it's really, really important to remember the stats coming out of cases to my right. Um, who in, um, they run the ACT teams across the city that work with serious mental illness, justice involved populations. And for folks who have gone through the Nathaniel Act program, they have seen 100% of people not commit a new felony in two years and uh they have reduced homelessness by over 90%. >> Okay. Well, thank you to this panel. This was very informative. The panel is dismissed. >> Sure. Thank you. Next, we're going to hear from Benjamin Hela with the Vera Institute of Justice, Magalie Melendez, Center of Justice Innovation, Melanie Dominguez, KO Center for Equity, Health and Justice, and Jennifer Parish. Hello. Hi, Chair Brooks Powers. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Benjamin Heler and I'm a program manager at the Vera Institute of Justice. Uh, appreciate this hearing today. DOC's FY27 preliminary budget is $2.99 billion, including fringe benefits, pension contributions, and debt service. This is a 5% increase compared with last June's adopted budget. Just $14 million of that budget is for external rehabilitative programming. OM authorizes 7,60 officers through the end of FY2030, which is three years after the city's deadline to close Riker's Island. Filling these roughly 1300 vacancies would cost the city approximately $174 million in salaries and benefits. In addition, DOC's overtime budget remains high and inaccurate. If spending in FY27 resembles the current fiscal year, DOC's overtime budget will last less than six months. A massive staffing increase would move DOC in the wrong direction. The agency is poised to downsize when Rikers closes. and the Litman Commission estimates that the new burrow-based jails will only require 3,240 officers. Now is the time for DOC to deploy staff more efficiently and effectively, not hire more, especially given there seems to be little connection between DOC hiring and reductions in overtime. We urge OM to lower DOC's authorized uniformed headcount in this and subsequent years to bring staffing in line with the needs of the new burrow-based jail system. We also urge OM to introduce new units of appropriation for executive management and programming, which will enable greater budget transparency and accountability. To reduce overtime spending, DOC leadership must deploy existing staff more efficiently, reinforce strong overtime oversight, and most importantly, submit realistic budgets to which city government can hold the agency accountable. In addition, our written testimony includes specific budget asks related to community-based mental health treatment, low barrier housing, alternatives to incarceration re-entry oversight and non-p police mental health response. By investing in these services, the Mamani administration can shrink the jail population in preparation for the move off Rikers, deliver responsive and effective governance, and improve community safety for all New Yorkers. Thank you. >> Thank you. Good afternoon, Chair Brooks Powers and the members of the committee. My name is Maggali Melendez. I'm the deputy director of Bronze Community Solutions in an initiative at of the Center for Justice Innovation. Thank you for this opportunity to testify. New York City is in a defining moment. The closure of Rakers Island is not just a mandate. It's a promise. a promise to build a system that is smaller, safer, and rooted in dignity and not detention. But that promise is at a risk if we do not invest in I'm sorry, invest in what actually makes communities safer. We cannot close Rikers by simply shifting where people are held. We close Rikers by reducing who enters the system in the first place. And that requires sustained investment in diversion, prevention, and community-based solutions. At Bronx Community Solutions, we see this every day. Through the Bronx Community Solutions driving while intoxicated treatment initiative, we address underlying substance use and reduce repeat offenses. Through the Bronx Hope program, we connect individuals to harm reduction, peer support, and life-saving resources. And through the Center for Justice Innovation's driver accountability program, we improved street safety by changing drivers behavior through reflection, accountability, and education rather than relying on punitive responses like fines, prosecution, or short-term incarceration. And this works extends far beyond bronze community solutions initiatives like save our streets which focuses on community based violence interruption and reimagining intimacy through social engagement like rise project which supports individuals in building healthy relationships and reducing harm are critical to addressing the root causes of the system involvement together. These programs are not optional. They are the infrastructure of a safer city. Yet too often, these are very programs that face uncertainty when budgets are tightened. If we are serious about public safety and about closing Rikers, we must protect and expand these investments, not reduce them, not delay them. We have made import program progress and we have a clear path forward. By sustaining these investments, we can continue building a system that reflects our shared values, safety, and fairness and community. Thank you. >> Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Melanie Dominguez. Thank you so much, Chair Brooks Powers for holding today's preliminary hearing. I am the organizing director at the Catal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice. Our members are from across the city and include people who have been incarcerated, family members of currently and formerly incarcerated people, and and many more. Many of our members know exactly how horrific Riker's Island is and are deeply troubled by the that the closure plan is off track. This fiscal year 2027 budget proposal doesn't just fall short. It it is a continuation of the status quo that persisted under the Adams administration. As a result, it leaves the Riker's closure plan in limbo and fails to address the rising jail population at Riker's Island. While Mayor Mdani continues to say he wants to close Rikers, those words fall short with this budget proposal. The city budget is where the rubber meets the road to save lives and close Rikers once and for all. As the crisis worsens at Rikers, the jail population rises and the closure plan remains off track. The fiscal year 2027 preliminary budget allocates 2.99 billion to DOC, which represents a 5% increase for the agency budget compared with last June's adopted budget. The Vera Institute sites that the DOC budget increase is driven largely by personal costs rather than investments like educational, therapeutic, and re-entry pro programming, which is what is needed at this current moment. And in addition, the administration proposes increasing while the administration proposes increasing the bloated budget of the DOC, the board of correction budget is once again underfunded at a time when oversight is critical. And we heard from the panel today as well. And so another key problem with this proposal is that it fails to investigate and address the increased costs of the burrow-based jails which have risen from the original estimate of 8 billion when the closure law was first enacted in 2019. And so these are things that we really hope that the city council can address. And one way that we can clearly reduce the jail population is by investing in mental health access in the community and making sure that folks are not being put at Riker's Island because they have a severe mental illness. We actually have a report that we put out with the data justice, the data collaborative justice at John J, which is cited in the written testimony. And so all in all, we really are asking the council to cut the DOC's bloated budget, making sure that the number of people incarcerated at Riker's Island is reduced and calling for the council to pass a budget that advances the closure of Riker's Island and invest in communities. >> Thank you. >> Good afternoon. My name is Jennifer Parish. I'm the director of criminal justice advocacy at the Urban Justice Center Mental Health Project and I'm a member of the Halt Solitary Campaign and the Jails Action Coalition. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. In my testimony today, I want to highlight three main points. First, the suffering in the city jails must end, but that will most effectively occur through decarceration, getting people off of Riker's Island, not by continuing to budget for more than 7,000 uniformed officers. The DOC is one of the most richly staffed jail systems in the country. We need to eliminate the more than 1300 vacancies that exist. That would save us $174 million annually. This money could be much better spent on community resources, including mental health services and alternatives to incarceration that will enable us to reduce the jail population and provide people the supports they need to thrive outside the jails. Second, the Department of Correction must invest in effective therapeutic programming to successfully implement local law 42 and end solitary confinement once and for all. With a mayor and commissioner who believe in ending solitary, they must follow the law which the council enacted in 2024 and that includes quality programming as alternatives to solitary confinement. We urged the council to support the D department in bringing in outside experts with the experience designing and implementing effective programming and they could do so for a tiny fraction of the funding that's allocated for the vacancies. Finally, the council should increase board of corrections budget so that the agency can provide essential oversight and transparency needed. In at least the last 30 years, the board has been fun has not been funded at the level required to perform its vital function. Currently, the board's funded for 33 staff who have tremendous responsibility to monitor jail conditions, conduct investigations, compile data, and publish reports. The board staff in the facilities are essential for addressing abuses. And I if I just could just give one example of the importance of the board of correction. In December, their staff identified in the solitary confinement units at West facility people who were being held in smok and and required to wear diapers. It took the board's much advocacy with the department to get that corrected. So, it's essential that they have are fully staffed to be able to have people in the facility to observe conditions and correct them. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you to this panel. You're dismissed. >> Next, we will hear from Darren Mack with the freedom agenda. Tammy Reid, freedom agenda. Eduardo Rodriguez, freedom agenda. Joseph Sto, freedom agenda. Victor Herrera, freedom agenda. You can start once you turn on the microphone. Thank you, Chair Brooks, Powers and Council members for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Darren Mack, co-director at Freedom Agenda and we're one of the organizations leading the campaign to close Rikers. Our members are survivors of Rikers like myself and family members who suffered the harms of Rikers along with their loved ones. They know that from experience that reconcileing continues cycles of violence and destabilizes communities while devouring the resources that could be used to create real safety. Unfortunately, key investments in a safer and healthier New York City are missing from the preliminary budget. That's why we're calling for 69.2 million more to meet mental health needs outside of Rikers, 48.5 million more for diversion and re-entry programs, and 3 million to increase the board of corrections oversight capacity. The city council pointed out recently that some long-standing vacancies in city agencies could provide opportunities for cost savings. The department of correction should be at the top of this list. DOC has 7,60 authorized positions for uniform officers, but less than 5,800 on staff and about 1,300 positions vacant. These vacancies have been growing for years despite lowering elig eligibility court requirements, increasing paying benefits, and conducting a multi-million dollar recruitment campaign. Filling these vacancies would cost an additional 174 million per year. Every penny of that money will be better spent on efforts to reduce the jail population like the investments we're advocating for. DOC's authorized headcount gives them a staffing ratio four times higher than the national average. The budget also authorized DLC for more than two times more officers than they would need to operate the burough facilities. If the city is serious about reducing incarceration and closing Rikers, cutting these vacancies is a no-brainer. Closing Rikers is a legal and moral mandate that must be backed up by this year's budget. I'll submit along with this testimony a full budget analysis that outlines amendments needed in the fiscical year 27 budget to pave the way to closing Rikers. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Good afternoon, Chair Brooks Powers and committee members and thank you for allowing me to testify today. My name is Tammy Reid and I'm testifying on behalf of Freedom Agenda as a and as a member of the campaign to close Rikers. I want to start off by saying that as a taxpaying citizen of this city, I'm blown away about the amount of money we spend um to house one person for one year in Riker's Island, which is to the tune of almost a half a million a year. I live off of less than 25, but yet I still eat. I have adequate clothing, utilities, and so and so forth. So, we can do much better than this. What I'm proposing today is that the current budget of uh fiscal year 2026 be adjusted to be in line with the closing of Rikers. I'm requesting that instead of passing this overbloated DOC budget that the city council work with the mayor to reallocate funds to areas where we truly do need the funding such as mental health services, more vigorous community services and afford such as affordable housing for those with mental health disease and others just to name a few. Again, I am baffled um as to why we keep dumping money into a facility such as Riker's Island, which is a disgrace and sin on up on our city instead of addressing the real issues that's plaguing our city, such as mental health house, mental health, housing, and preventative care. And what I mean by that is funding programs to help our young ones from ever entering the system. Recently, I was at an event where a panelist said that there are surveys that correlate failing test scores in schools to number of beds needed in Jubie Hall. And I was flabbergasted by this statement. If you can correlate test scores to Jubilee Hall beds, and surely you can correlate it to the fact that there is a need to fund schools and programs that prevent kids from filling up these beds. There are host of organizations out here that are already dedicated to this goal. One such organization is the family enrichment centers. They're popping up all over New York City. I volunteer at one in New York in uh St. Orin's, Queens. And as a privy member, one of the main issues is funding. And this is true for a lot of organizations that are already up and they're doing the work. So I ask that the U committee consider taking some of that Riker's money and put it into this programs to help out young ones. >> And what's the program in St. Albins's? the family enrichment center, community connections. >> Okay. Well, Preston them. >> Yes. >> Yep. >> Got it. >> Work with them every day. >> Yes. >> Good afternoon, committee members. My name is Joseph. >> Please turn your mic on. >> Good afternoon, committee members. My name is Joseph Stood. Uh I'm a Native American spiritualist, but 30 years ago, I was an adolescent trapped in the gladiator school of Rikers Island. Between 94 and 97, the violence was so consistent that I had to cut my long hair uh short just to survive to make to make sure that no one could grab it and and during the fight. It wasn't until December 5th, 1995 when I was finally able to start growing my hair back cuz I was in state custody. Um I kept it long ever since as a symbol of my spirit and my freedom. 30 years later, the violence in Rikers Island has not changed. It remains the same, if not its worse. The only thing that has grown since is the waste of public money. Today, New York City spends nearly half a million dollars to incarcerate just one person for a year. This alone, the docks is spending over 370 million on overtime. We are pouring billions into a system that fails to provide safety and dignity to our people. More than 50% of people in Riker's Island today have a mental health diagnosis and hundreds are there simply because they are homeless. I urge the council to ring in Doc's inflated budget and stop the cycle of violence please. I lived through this decades ago. expand the board of corrections oversight to hold the system accountable. Redispuses these funds into community-based services that foster real safety and well-being, including the mental health and diversion programs that the campaign for to close Riker's Island is advocating. The city committed to closing Rikers Island in 2027. We cannot wait another 30 years. It's time to devest from the failure to re to reinvest in our people. Thank you for hearing me out. >> Thank you. >> Good afternoon members of the committee and fellow attendees. My name is Victor Merrera and I am a longtime directly impacted leader and member of freedom agenda closed Rikers. I want to begin with I have experienced a violence that I that was mostly provoked by staff during controlling factors in the department of corrections Rikers Island where the other the other C's are ignored when it comes to controlling care and custody the individuals that are pre-trial detained that are faced with the difficult overwhelming understanding of what they are faced when confronted with the criminal and prosecutotorial apparatus is that is just too tough to overcome when as Koba just provided they are faced with overworked staff equally stressed for their own shortfalls whether overtime or staffing shortage engaging in daily correctional ideologies the result is harm to both sides not one side as implicated by the union boss Coba detainees are always the best source to blame for the harm they experience I am here to today to urge you to increase funding for specific re-entry programs that serve that serve to prepare pre-trial detained or paroleies to return with the necessary information and resources there is an absence of re-entry prep for individuals to participate when the appropriate needs upon return to the community is vital for those seeking economic and housing resources. The absence of such information and preparation leaves many at risk with the current metro card and go idea for cost effectiveness, public safety, justice, remedial education and resources will go a long way for the pe for people returning and the urgency. These insecurity issues are truly overwhelming and traumatizing. More social services are needed while individuals are being held in custody or detained. Without increased allocation of funding for such programs, the city is left with underserved people and communities, leaving them open to a negative suggestiveness open to interpretation by other agencies, i.e. NYPD and probation. I understand that budget resources are limited and that every department is making a case of funding. However, cutting or underfunded prevention programs like the one proposed for people in detention will only cost more. This is not just a moral choice. It's a fiscally responsible one. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you to the panel. This panel is dismissed. Next, we'll call up Alice Hamlet with Worth Risers, Bedal Guzman with America on Trial Incorporated, Barbara Menny, and Tanoa Downing. You just start whenever you ready. Just unmute the mic. >> Good afternoon and thank you chair Brooks Powers and the committee for the opportunity to testify. My name is Alice Hamlet and I'm the policy campaigns manager at Worth Rises, a nonprofit working to end the exploitation of people impacted by the prison industry. In 2019, New York City became the first jurisdiction in the country to provide free phone calls in its jails, strengthening family connectedness, improving re-entry outcomes, and increasing public safety. However, it has become apparent that even free calls from New York City jails come at a steep cost. Under the guise of the simple phone system, the DOC and its jail telecom vendor, Securus, have constructed a vast high-tech spying network that primarily targets black and brown New Yorkers. Without a warrant, DOC records every call and collects biometric, financial, and other personal information from all participants, including the roughly 20,000 people admitted to New York City jails each year, as well as their family and friends, and packages it to sell to other law enforcement agencies, meaning that personal data can circulate forever. Introduction 96, the End Correctional Community Surveillance Act, sponsored by Council Member Brewer, would ban this recording and data collection without a warrant, force the destruction of data already collected, and create a private right of action for anyone whose information was unlawfully surveiled or disclosed. It recaptures the promise of our First Amendment rights while retaining the tools necessary for public safety. Please hear written testimony, which we will be submitting following a hearing, for more details. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Tana Downey and I'm a civil rights advocate and litigator out of Washington DC. Uh my friends, there's nothing more destructive to our union than paying people to violate the Constitution, United States of America. And please allow me to explain. The Constitution is the overarching requirements that every state must follow. I trust we all understand that. States cannot enact their own alternative legislation, substitute that for the guarantees of the constitution, and go out and enforce it as though it's constitutional. Clause one of amendment five to the United States Constitution says no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise impest crime unless on presentment or indictment of a grand jury. However, the state of New York has enacted its own alternative legislation that permits prosecuting attorneys and law enforcement to charge by information, not by indictment, and that is unconstitutional. Now, an emolement violation is when you pay someone to violate the constitution. You can't do that. If you receive federal funding, you cannot pay someone to violate federal law. There's two areas of the constitution that reinforces this. The first is article 1, section 10. That's where it says no state shall create new law that shall impair the obligation of contracts. Police officers, prosecutors, judges, they're all under contract. That's a contract to perform based upon the oath or affirmations they took to support and defend the Constitution, United States of America. So, when the state of New York creates a law that directs them to disobey the Constitution, that would obviously be a violation of article 1, section 10. The second place that reinforces this is the 14th amendment. That's where it says that no state shall create or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges and duties of United States citizens. The privileges and immunities of United States citizens are to minimum what is enumerated the bill of rights. They cannot be impaired. This was affirmed by the United States Supreme Court in 2019. And as a result, the state of New York has created a law and is directing their agents whom unfortunately you all pay to violate the Constitution of the United States. As a result, there is currently an inordinate amount of people currently in prison here in the state of New York illegally and unconstitutionally. So, I'm preparing to litigate this through the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the more than 700,000 people are currently in prison here in America illegally and unconstitutionally. Here today to let you know that if we continue to pay these public officials to violate the Constitution, that criminal sanctions can come from that. We don't want to head down that path. I'm here to work with you to fix this problem. But we need to I need to make sure that you're aware that paying people to violate the Constitution is an emolement violation. It is illegal and it is a crime. So, I'm asking you honorable individuals today to please take a look at clause one amendment five. confirm what I'm saying to be true and then direct your agents to act in lawful constitutional manner that is consistent with the obligations they have codified in the constitution United States of America. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Hey, how you doing? My name is Vidal Guzman. I'm the ED and founder of an organization called America on Trial. I come here today as someone who was incarcerated twice on Riker's Island. I was tried as an adult when I was 16. I was on Rikers when I was 17. I was also reinccarstated when I was 19. As New York moves to close Rikers, we must treat community reinvestment as urgent urgent and important in these budget hearings. If we're serious about reducing incarceration, we start long before people, especially young people, come in contact with the system. Right now, New York, we hear we heard everybody say operates the most richly. Uh we also heard the Department of Correction talk about how much they spend on overtime. And then on top of that, we also know how much it costs to keep a person on Riker's Island. Half a million. Uh these resources could be better uh used outside of the jail system to uh to meet people's need and prevent any type of interaction with the criminal justice system. Through my work with America on Trial and as a lifelong resident of West Harlem, I see every day how under investments in community like mine's limit uh for young people, how real investments would do far more safety than continuing to pour money into jails. We need more funding for young programs, young youth programs, job opportunities for youth um pathway um into growing industries like technology. Um, and I heard some of the public talk about that we need investment in violent interruption program, housing, trauma and force. Um, and as the city continues uh to wanting to close Rikers, I just urge this council to remember the commitment requested meaningful investment in in New Yorkers and their communities. You know, closing Rikers does not mean moving Rikers somewhere else. We really need to think about the real shift. The question I should ask yah is the question is not whether we can afford to invest in our community. The reality is that we can we can't afford not to. Thank you for your time for the opportunity to share my testimony. >> Thank you so much. Thank you to the panel. Panel is dismissed. >> For virtual panelists, we will be calling individuals one by one to testify. Once your name is called, a member of our staff will unmute you and the sergeant-at-arms will set the timer and give you the go-ahhead to begin. Please wait for the sergeant-at-arms to announce that you may begin before delivering your testimony. First, we'll hear from Alicia Thomas. >> You may begin. Good afternoon, chair and members of the council. My name is Alicia Thomas and I'm a resident of Bronx County. I'm here today as someone who's experienced homelessness firsthand and as a member of the Freedom Agenda and the campaign to close Riker's Island. There was a time in my life when I wasn't I was doing everything I could to survive, trying to keep a roof over my child's head while the system kept pushing me down. My three-year-old son and I were living in a shelter that was not fit for a child and the conditions were very unsanitary and I worried consistently about his health and safety. Every day was about survival with almost no resources. However, what I experienced is not an isolated story. What I lived through and what I saw others going through were not so different from what happened in a place like Riker's Island. The over reliance on the carceral system does not solve these struggles. It deepens them. Families are separated. Children grow up without parents. And people who need housing, health care, and mental health support are met with punishment instead of solutions. At a cost of nearly half a million dollars per person a year, Riker's Island is the most expensive and least effective tool our city has to create safety. And yet the FY2027 preliminary budget that's presented is missing the very investments that would actually help people before they reach a point of crisis. We need the city to invest a figure of $69.2 $2 million in health mental health care outside of Rikers, including restoring and expanding intensive mobile treatment teams to eliminate a wait list of over 500 people waiting on those services to restore funding for assertive community treatment and to create more forensic act teams for people returning home. We need investment in outpatient competency restoration so people aren't stuck waiting on Riker's Island for >> time expired. >> Thank you. Next we'll hear from Nia Williams. >> You may begin. We'll next hear from Jesse Taylor. >> You may begin. >> Okay. Blessings to you all and thank you for this opportunity to share my testimony. My name is Jesse and I'm a member of Freedom Agenda and I work as a re-entry services provider for women, mothers, and gender non-conforming people at the Rosem Singer Center. As we've heard all morning and into the afternoon, collaboration between NYC public schools, city agencies, and impacted communities can guide a sustainable decarceration path. We need to prevent RS by reempowering communities with material support in the form of 41 million to restore FY26 funding levels for intensive mobile treatment teams. 3 million in capital funds to support 60 new residential treatment beds. An additional 48.5 million for diversion and re-entry services through the office of criminal justice. 6.89 million to expand programs serving court involved youth with mental health needs. and 20.3 million to establish at least 150 units of low barrier housing for people with court involvement and mental health diagnosis. As the Center for Court Innovations 2021 closing Riker's Island report says, there are many short and long-term interventions that can foster safer neighborhoods without the harms from an over reliance on jail. These approaches range from violence interruption programs to expanded mental health care to investments in supportive housing, youth programs, special education, and other efforts to prevent violence and address fundamental needs in impacted communities. closing Rikers and developing care-driven people first trauma-informed burrow-based jails will will require intentional community- centered action and a budget that promotes well-being and reduces incarceration. Thank you. >> Thank you, Jesse. We'll go back to Nia Williams. >> You may begin. >> Thank you so much for the opportunity to be able to speak today. My name is Nia Williams and I am a deputy director with the Osborne Association's Court Advocacy Services, which has provided defense-based advocacy in New York City for indigent clients for 40 years. Osborne serves over 18,000 individuals and families a year who are navigating the court system. For 21 years, I have advocated for individuals in New York City, often accused of serious offenses. I have recently worked with a 40-year-old client with co-occurring untreated mental illness and substance use disorder. I interviewed, assessed, and successfully advocated for a sentence of time served with community treatment as an ATI. This client, like many others arrested and who whose humanity was secondary to the offense, was granted the opportunity to redirect his life. Judicial buyin and zealous legal strategy that recognizes the effectiveness of CAS's mitigation and advocacy contributed to the outcome. Collaboration with defense attorneys promotes public safety while saving public dollars spent on pre-trial detention and prison sentences. Last fiscal year, CAS prevented 1,674 years of incarceration, added cost savings to the city and state of $227 million. I want to close with reflections from parole attorney and legal aid Nian Kim who recently said, "The Osborne Association team shines a light on the dignity of our clients in face of a system that makes them feel small and invisible. Clients have shared with me that Osborne social workers have laid down the bridges for them to realize their dreams, show that they are capable beyond expectations, deserving of investment, and valuable members of the New York City community. Without Osborne's collaboration, much freedom, and many second chances would have been denied. But with their support, our clients have returned to their homes, families, jobs, and programs, knowing that they had others in their corners and rooting for them. Osborne is a long-standing member of the New York City ATI re-entry coalition. The coalition has requested an additional $2.4 million increase across our telealth member organization. >> Time expired. Thank you to everyone who came out and testified today. If there's anyone in the room who wishes to testify that we may have inadvertently u missed, we just ask that you fill out one of the cards and give it to the sergeant-at-arms. hearing none. I just want to thank the agencies, the advocates, and everyone in between for coming out today and and lending your voice to the start of this budget season. Thank you everyone.