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etchasketch4u t1_iwsk2t6 wrote

I just served on a jury and once it was over the judge talked privately with the jury and went out of his way to say how bad rikers is right now. He said they are extremely understaffed and that there was obvious corruption at all levels. Our defendant was late to trial everyday because there just aren't enough people. He

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DoritosDewItRight t1_iwsyrg3 wrote

Rikers is extremely well staffed, we spend $600,000 per inmate per year. The problem is that NYC Corrections employees are openly corrupt, and often refuse to do their jobs or show up for work

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SillyDig1520 t1_iwt9z8z wrote

Source for $600k per prisoner, please? At that rate you could hire a guard for each inmate and still have >$500k/yr to steal utilize.

nb: NYPost does not count as a source.

edit: many sources confirm op's statement. It indeed costs upwards of $500k per inmate per year... Fucking. Insane.

final edit: this was an interesting read: https://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/comptroller-stringer-cost-of-incarceration-per-person-in-new-york-city-skyrockets-to-all-time-high-2/

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Rottimer t1_iwuzu71 wrote

If you hire a guard for each inmate, but they have unlimited paid sick days and do not have to provide a doctors note if they’ve been all week sick, and all week 2 weeks ago, and all week 4 weeks ago. . . You’re not ever going to actually have a guard for each inmate.

You’ll be paying for it, but not actually getting it.

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09-24-11 t1_iwud14u wrote

Now think of all the people who want to lock up the mentally ill and are willing to spend $500,000 a year because some guy is yelling on the street.

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SillyDig1520 t1_iwuj1fk wrote

It would be great if we could spend that on real issues without incarceration. But we don't live in a rational world, and no one would profit from treating MH issues. Ergo, lock em up to pad someone's pocket until we figure out how to make a very corrupt MH system.

Note: wrote this sitting on the A and the front of this car is empty save for one homeless person sleeping.

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Rottimer t1_iwuzgxn wrote

If they refuse to show up for work then it’s not well staffed. You can complain about how much we’re paying for correction officers to take literally dozens of paid sick days per year. But you can’t say it’s also “well staffed.”

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Grass8989 t1_iwt8iv1 wrote

Do you work on Rikers? Do you know what actually goes on there or what it’s like working there?

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SillyDig1520 t1_iwtaacv wrote

No, but my friend does. He says he makes more money smuggling contraband than from salary.

In all seriousness, it's hell on earth for almost everyone involved.

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Grass8989 t1_iwtankz wrote

Cool, then lets fire all COs who are 85% PoC and 40% women because some WFHers from Reddit said rikers isn’t a nice place.

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4zem t1_iwud119 wrote

Unhinged. You people need fucking help.

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Rottimer t1_iwv02he wrote

If it wasn’t for the obvious logistical issues, I would do that in a heartbeat and start from scratch. Because way too many COs need to be fired.

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ohsnapitserny t1_iwta6au wrote

Rikers is most definitely well staffed, they are losing corrections officers like crazy.

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CLWR43290 t1_iwuci07 wrote

Hi Matt, keep posting your articles here on Reddit. We need to know where our tax payer dollars are being wasted. This is insane this person is making $400k for a part time job. What a crock of shit.

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rythmicbread t1_iwuwyw2 wrote

Like what does he even do. What specialized skill does he have that requires a higher salary?

The president of the US only gets 400k a year

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Throwawayhelp111521 t1_iwwfn4j wrote

The president of the United States and the Mayor of NYC are public servants. The Monitor is not. He's a private lawyer and his hourly fee of $350 is not out of line for an experienced lawyer, in fact, it's on the low side.

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rythmicbread t1_iwwh9uj wrote

Gotcha, that makes a bit more sense. Tbf, I did ask what he did. I was under the impression he was an appointed public servant.

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Throwawayhelp111521 t1_iwwis8c wrote

He's a private consultant. I don't know his exact status, but agreeing to take the position does not mean he's agreeing to be paid like a typical elected or appointed official or a member of the civil service. Up higher in this thread, someone posted a link to his curriculum vitae. It's 14 pages long. I only looked at the first few pages, but he appears to have highly relevant experience in criminal justice and specifically corrections systems stretching back to 1987. When the government hires an expert it doesn't expect to get a discount. It's paying for special expertise. As I said, many experienced lawyers have a much higher hourly rate. Harping on his rate seems like a juvenile, attention-grabbing ploy and the reporter is experienced so it's disappointing.

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PrebenInAcapulco t1_iwwnw1d wrote

Disagree. Even high powered lawyers do not charge their commercial rate when doing pro bono or other public oriented work. It’s one thing for Exxon to pay 500 dollars an hour or whatever but it’s a misuse of city funds that can do good elsewhere. The city should not be paying this much. Very competent lawyers exist who would do this work for much less.

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Throwawayhelp111521 t1_iwz997o wrote

This isn't pro bono work. Pro Bono work is usually performed at no charge. The law firm makes a certain number of lawyers available for free and doesn't charge for expenses like photocopying, postage, service, and travel, which can be considerable. Pro bono work usually isn't open-ended. The law firm takes on discrete matters that can be resolved in a reasonable amount of time like a year or two, often less. Often law firm associates (as opposed to partners) are assigned to pro bono cases and in many large law firms with up-and-out systems, the associates leave after a few years to work somewhere else.

I don't think many competent lawyers with this level of expertise and experience would want to work for years on a project of this type for less than their normal fee. It doesn't seem to be very rewarding work and it appears that the lawyers don't have the power and political support to accomplish all that they need to. If you're going to work at less than your regular rate you want the experience to be fulfilling, to be good training for your associates, and to generate good PR for your firm.

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PrebenInAcapulco t1_iwzx4gb wrote

Agree to disagree as to whether this is an attractive project for a law firm. Big law firms would salivate at taking on a high profile project like this. And yah not purely pro bono but falls in the quasi pro bono realm where billing is lower usually.

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Throwawayhelp111521 t1_ix0p5by wrote

>Big law firms would salivate at taking on a high profile project like this

High profile but also high criticism, a not easily solvable problem: not that attractive.

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Throwawayhelp111521 t1_iwzc9s4 wrote

Don't forget that despite their relatively low salaries, many high-profile politicians receive numerous perks, and there often are funds created by their parties and their donors from which to draw. They're not living just on their salaries. And in the future, they parlay their political experience and connections into handsomely paying positions such as consultants, board members, etc.

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BiblioPhil t1_iwz5sot wrote

That was probably the intention. Part 2 was convincing you to vote against spending for public programs and in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy.

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TeamMisha t1_iwtj0sj wrote

Great article Matt.

> But last month, the monitor argued in a report that neither he — nor, perhaps, the proposed federal receiver — could turn Rikers around

That's pretty damning lmao. At this point clearly the current plan is not working, so I say go for it with a federal receiver. If even that fails well it's on the feds then not us, but is still a pretty damning assessment of NYC's ability to run services

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brokelyngirl t1_iwsq2mr wrote

Rikers is such a cess pool. People are dying in there. There are more correctional officers than "inmates". This needs intervention. I wish Advocate Williams would raise hell about this (rather than saying that "it's better than last year" [paraphrasing).

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Grass8989 t1_iwtb90h wrote

Source on there being more corrections officers on shift at rikers than inmates?

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HellsKitchen111 t1_iwuc8so wrote

More Officer than inmates? Yeah that’s complete bullshit.

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brokelyngirl t1_iwuknpq wrote

I think I originally learned that ratio of corrections officers to inmates on NPR. Regardless, here's a few sources:

https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/7/11/22572991/rikers-island-getting-more-jail-guards-correction-officers

https://nypost.com/2022/09/10/nyc-correction-officers-fleeing-in-droves/

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Grass8989 t1_iwuoa3k wrote

You do realize it’s a 24/7 job right, not every corrections officer is there 24 hours a day seven days a week. The amount on shift per inmate is a more accurate statistic

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NlNTENDO t1_iwv3m4q wrote

"a ratio seven times higher than the national average"

Not like that job isn't 24/7 literally everywhere else

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Grass8989 t1_iwv6a70 wrote

Wasn’t everyone just complaining that there aren’t enough COs to monitor the inmates, Which lead to increased suicide rates on Rikers? So now it’s that’s theres too many? All I’m hearing is a lot of Virtue signaling from people who have never been anywhere near a prison, let alone having worked in one.

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Throwawayhelp111521 t1_iwzbdbz wrote

>All I’m hearing is a lot of Virtue signaling from people who have never been anywhere near a prison, let alone having worked in one.

It's equally obvious that most people here are unfamiliar with what lawyers charge or how they work. IIRC, there was a lawyer who was appointed a special master in a securities case. I think she had had a high-ranking position in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and had left and become a partner at a large, respected corporate law firm. I believe she charged $800 an hour and that was years ago.

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NlNTENDO t1_iwv9bs8 wrote

Don't ask me. I wasn't the one who told you that, so don't try to hold me responsible for the opinions of others.

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Turbulent_Link1738 t1_iwvtj39 wrote

Bro. They’ll have one CO watching 50+ inmates by himself. They’re definitely not staffed properly.

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Grass8989 t1_iww992e wrote

But but the WFHers on reddit say “corrections officers are mean”. And there’s also too many of them, even tho literally this week people were bitching that there aren’t enough to monitor the inmates leading to increased cases of suicide.

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Sundayx1 t1_iwt79to wrote

I listened to a podcast w Soledad O’Brien about a year ago on the deplorable conditions at Rikers Island.(Quake Media). Was pretty interesting. Place should be shut down immediately.

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shant_jan t1_iwsnun8 wrote

always appreciate your reporting! thanks!

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Colonel-Cathcart t1_iwsrth1 wrote

Outrageous, thanks for sharing.

Put that money towards something that addresses the fucking conditions.

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Luke90210 t1_iwsxvf8 wrote

Federal administration of Rikers means the labor contracts would be treated far less than NYC administration by law.

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bsanchey t1_iwu3pzq wrote

The corruption runs deep to the core. How the fuck does a federal monitor make that much. Well. Mayor Swagger is going to make things much worse

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camstarakimbo t1_iwv55jw wrote

So much corruption, its absolutely insane. Most doctors dont even make 400k

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RecommendationOld525 t1_iwtdikt wrote

Great article. Thank you for the reporting and for sharing!

On a different note, to draw attention to the closing quote: “In this moment bold remedies are necessary, and this administration is ready, willing, and legally able to take such steps.” LOL the Adams administration is capable of bold remedies? Like the War on Rats? Sure, Jan.

We need to close Rikers. It clearly can’t be fixed. I’m pro-union except for unions for law enforcement and correctional officers. Too many bad applies that actively harm others are being protected.

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Grass8989 t1_iwtfnp2 wrote

Cool so let’s fire all COs who are 85% PoC and 40% women. Do you care when corrections officers are assaulted by violent inmates too? Or are we just going to virtue signal that all of the inmates are on rikers by accident.

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RecommendationOld525 t1_iwtgp60 wrote

Looking at your post and comment history, you seem obsessed with crime in NYC, so I don’t think it’s worth engaging with you because I don’t think you’re engaging in good faith.

But just one thing quickly: women and people of color are not exempt from being abusive assholes. And nowhere did I say anything you’re pretending I said. Please take your energy elsewhere, thank you.

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mission17 t1_iwthkbb wrote

They claim to care about POC but compared the BLM protests to January 6th. Oh brother.

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Grass8989 t1_iwti0rh wrote

Dude literally follows me everywhere. I compared the violent extremists (ie the ones who used Molotov cocktails) who took part in the 2020 protests to the Jan 6th insurrectionists not just any protestors but again whatever narrative you want to create.

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set-271 t1_iwu5swo wrote

It costs American Taxpayers $2,000 per day per prisoner to keep them in incarceration. And there are over 2.3 million prisoners currently in incarceration.

You do the math, and it's no wonder why The Big Short's Michael Burry sold his entire stock portfolio and bought only one stock - Geo Group, a for-profit prison company.

When you think about it, it's very scary what's to come given recession, war, and the Fed's push for creating unemployment to tame inflation, as well as the hiring of 70,000 new IRS agents to chase delinquent American tax payers. And let's not forget they will be pushing a CBDC on us all soon, where they track your spending and take your wealthy away at the click of a button.

Feels very much like America is gearing up to become a police state.

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elizabeth-cooper t1_iwv20av wrote

There are no for-profit prisons in New York State.

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set-271 t1_iwv2zby wrote

Correct...but Hochul is trying to bring them back. And its still costing tax payers billions annually.

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elizabeth-cooper t1_iwv3pw1 wrote

Source? The only think I see she's looking to allow is prisoners working for private companies for higher wages than they could earn working for the DOC, and would assist with re-entry after incarceration.

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-jails-jobs-new-initiative-improve-re-entry-workforce-and-reduce

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set-271 t1_iwv42yl wrote

Maybe we're taking the same thing...

https://www.nysfocus.com/2022/02/23/hochul-proposes-bringing-back-private-prison-labor/

Here's the critique of it which I agree with.

https://citylimits.org/2022/03/10/opinion-new-york-should-reject-a-return-to-private-prison-labor/

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elizabeth-cooper t1_iwv53ne wrote

Yes, we're talking about the same proposal. It doesn't mean for-profit prisons. There will remain no for-profit prisons in New York.

Anyway, I don't see any critique in that article. It only says that it doesn't work out so well in other states because the companies don't offer much in the way of worker protections. New York has much stronger worker protection laws than many other states, so it's likely things will be different here.

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supermechace t1_iwtvhel wrote

Was the county jail plan a result of the failures at Rikers? When I heard about it they didn't seem to push the problems at Rikers as the selling point. I can understand bail reform and it's related soft on minor crime laws to avoid sending people to Rikers. Seems that the city has been winging the justice system for decades.

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tempura_calligraphy t1_iwv619q wrote

Ok, I’m a little shocked Matt Katz posts on Reddit, LOL.

Anyway…. “In this moment bold remedies are necessary, and this administration is ready, willing, and legally able to take such steps.” Obviously this is not true or it would’ve been done already. The comment on the monitor being in a self-serving conflict of interest seems quite accurate.

I’m wondering who is exactly in charge? Like, not giving someone diabetes medicine? I can only see this happening because of 5 reasons: there is no diabetes medication (it ran out); too many requests for medication and not enough people to fulfill them (understaffing); total lack of empathy for other humans (aka psychopaths and/or staggering laziness); feeling like you don’t have the power to do it (lack of agency); being paid to not do it (aka corruption). Only 1, 4, and 5 make sense to me, but 4 makes the most sense. Which leads me to wonder who is in charge. (That Martin guy seems pretty corrupt, though, ngl.)

Maybe they should get Elon Musk in there, so he can fire 1/2 the staff and do some “disruption”.

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Throwawayhelp111521 t1_iwwh3lh wrote

"We got the monitor's bills...He makes $400,000 a year for a part-time job."

He charges $350 for an hour, which for a lawyer with his experience and expertise is perfectly reasonable. Some lawyers charge $800 an hour. Unlike the Mayor, Martin is not a public servant, he's in private practice. The team also is large. Review of the materials is costly and time-consuming. The lack of progress is of course troubling, but by his own admission, it's a huge problem and his limited powers aren't sufficient. In other words, it's good to alert the public to the continuing issue but it's bad to make a scapegoat out of this guy and his team. You sound like a crusading junior high school reporter when you do that.

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BiblioPhil t1_iwz6f8d wrote

He sounds like any conservative paper's(e.g the Post's) reporting. Put a large figure in the headline implying it's an elected/appointed public official's salary.

Adds fuel to the "out of control gubmint spending" narrative to make your proposed solutions (cut funding to public works, infrastructure, regulatory agencies and social services, while implementing tax cuts for businesses and the rich) seem favorable.

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Throwawayhelp111521 t1_iwzaag8 wrote

>He sounds like any conservative paper's(e.g the Post's) reporting. Put a large figure in the headline implying it's an elected/appointed public official's salary.

I was thinking the opposite, that he sounded like a naive or faux-naive lefty reporter. At the extremes of the political spectrum, there are similarities.

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