Rikers-Replacing Jail Sites Announced + Jumaane Williams’ Lt. Gov Campaign is Official

Local News

• Mayor de Blasio announced sites of four jails across the City meant to eventually replace the Rikers Island jail complex. The plan expands existing facilities in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, but includes a brand new jail to be constructed in the South Bronx.
• Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams urged the de Blasio administration to reinstate solitary confinement for violent inmates after a correction officer’s spine was fractured by a group of five detainees.
• Council Members are calling for Governor Cuomo to declare a NYCHA State of Emergency, which would allow public housing repairs to be expedited.
• Lawyers from Legal Aid are suing New York State for its use of “familial DNA” in criminal investigations, saying the decision should be voted on by the Legislature.
• According to a report from the Village Voice, Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance has sole discretion on the use of over $734 million, thanks to criminal asset forfeitures (mostly from Wall Street bank settlements) that are not required to go through the State budget. Much of the money has apparently been rerouted to the NYPD and other law enforcement agencies in New York and New Jersey.
• A secretive coalition of city agencies called MARCH has been shutting down local nightclubs and music venues for decades by selectively overwhelming them with costly violations, and has so far resisted attempts at more transparent oversight and regulation.
• In an apparent reward to the Bronx Democratic Party for securing his speakership, Council Speaker Corey Johnson has empowered Ruben Diaz, Sr. and Fernando Cabrera, two openly homophobic Bronx Council Members, by handing them committee chair positions.
• The Democratic Assembly majority proposed a criminal justice legislation package that includes a wide range of reforms to policing, trial procedure, bail, and prison conditions.
• A City Council hearing on NYPD crowd control tactics focused on police behavior at a recent demonstration in support of immigrant rights activist Ravi Ragbir, which resulted in the arrest of Council Members Ydanis Rodriguez (District 10, Washington Heights) and Jumaane Williams (District 45, Flatbush).
• Mayor de Blasio delivered a State of the City address this week that was light on policy proposals but heavy on rhetoric about making New York City more “fair.”

Elections

• Council Member Jumaane Williams formally announced his campaign for Lieutenant Governor, challenging the Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul. Williams was endorsed by a number of progressive elected officials across the City and State.
• Transgender activist Melissa Sklarz plans to challenge one-term Assembly Member Brian Barnwell (District 30, Maspeth) in the Democratic primary. Sklarz, who filed with the New York Board of Elections earlier this month, would be the first transgender Assembly member.
• The Working Families Party endorsed three primary challengers to sitting Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) State Senators, with more potentially to come.
• Adem Bunkeddeko, a community organizer from Crown Heights challenging US Rep. Yvette Clarke (NY-09), reported an eye-opening amount of money raised in the most recent filing period and may mount a competitive Democratic primary campaign this fall.
• A group of 26 community organizations, including NYC-DSA Socialist Feminists and South Brooklyn DSA, shared a letter they sent to District 17 (Southern Brooklyn) State Senator and member of the Senate Health Committee Simcha Felder requesting that he take a position on the New York Health Act.