New York City’s Rikers Island, facing possible federal takeover, found violating safety standards
Facing the looming prospect of a federal takeover, New York City’s troubled Rikers Island jail complex is failing to meet a court-ordered requirement to properly clean and maintain its facilities, according to a new report issued by a federal monitor.
In a progress report released Thursday, the monitor described a decrepit jail complex where detainees are forced to live in damp, fetid quarters infested with mold, vermin and other “generally unsanitary” conditions.
Despite some progress toward collaboration, the monitor — a court-created body known as the Office of Compliance Consultants — found thousands of open violations inside the jail, ranging from “chronic pooling” of water, clogged vents limiting air flow and the persistent smell of sewage. One detainee complained his cell was full of mice “because there’s no dust pan on unit to properly pick up the trash,”