@freedomagendany.bsky.social
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Finally on November 3, 2025, Freedom Agenda members and partners watched as the Vernon C. Bain Center aka the Boat floated away from Hunts Point to be recycled for scraps. This was a huge win for the movement to shrink incarceration in New York City.
#CloseRikers
#RenewableRikers
#TheBoat
#VCBC
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5 days ago
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STATEMENT from the Campaign to
#CloseRikers
on
@mayor.nyc.gov
's appointment of Stanley Richards as DOC Commissioner. We look forward to working with Commissioner Richards toward erasing this stain on our City.
about 21 hours ago
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Weâre glad to have a mayor who recognizes the need to close
#Rikers
, and we look forward to a budget that reflects that. Listen to Brian Meegan
@imabmee.bsky.social
share how they would reallocate the billions...
#CloseRikers
#CareNotCriminalization
#NYCBudget
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4 days ago
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"We need a new understanding of community safety â one that addresses the root causes of crime and promotes humane, rehabilitative treatment for all New Yorkers." - Rev. Dr. Serene Jones & Rev. Fred Davie, Union Theological Seminary
www.amny.com/oped/nyc-com...
#CloseRikers
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Op-Ed | NYC needs a new understanding of community safety that only starts by closing Rikers â amNewYork
We need a new understanding of community safety â one that addresses the root causes of crime and promotes humane, rehabilitative treatment for all New
https://www.amny.com/oped/nyc-community-safety-closing-rikers-island/
4 days ago
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Finally on November 3, 2025, Freedom Agenda members and partners watched as the Vernon C. Bain Center aka the Boat floated away from Hunts Point to be recycled for scraps. This was a huge win for the movement to shrink incarceration in New York City.
#CloseRikers
#RenewableRikers
#TheBoat
#VCBC
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5 days ago
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STATEMENT from the Campaign to
#CloseRikers
on the selection of a Remediation Manager for
#Rikers
Island
6 days ago
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Weâre glad to have a mayor who recognizes the need to close
#Rikers
, and we look forward to a budget that reflects that. Listen to Angelique Williams with Youth Represent NYC share how they would reallocate the billions of dollars...
#CloseRikers
#CareNotCriminalization
#NYCBudget
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6 days ago
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Join us Sunday, January 25th at 6pm for our IG LIVE discussion on the Youth Justice & Opportunity Act.
11 days ago
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Now is the time to pass the Treatment Court Expansion Act!
www.treatmentnotjail.com
13 days ago
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reposted by
Tom Ochs
18 days ago
This is a GREAT write up about the latest Federal monitors report on the horrific conditions and violence that continues unchecked at Rikers Island.
@mayor.nyc.gov
is indeed on the clock to
#CloseRikers
@freedomagendany.bsky.social
add a skeleton here at some point
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reposted by
Amanda Jack
about 1 year ago
TY
@phara4assembly.bsky.social
: we must INVEST in community based resources, supporting housing & supportive off-ramps like
#TreatmentNotJail
& stop reliance on "the revolving door of the criminal legal system & the cudgel of incarceration as our only response"
www.nydailynews.com/2024/11/23/r...
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In an interview at the New York Law School on 12/10,
@speakermenin.bsky.social
expressed her strong support for closing Rikers. Now that sheâs been officially elected as Speaker, we look forward to working with her, City Council, and
@mayor.nyc.gov
to close this hellhole for good!
#CloseRikers
25 days ago
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Here are some immediate steps
@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
's administration can take in his first 100 days in office get NYC back on track to
#CloseRikers
for good, taken from our recent Countdown to Closing
#Rikers
Policy Brief
bit.ly/rikersfirst100days
27 days ago
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Congratulations
@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
! Weâre glad to have a mayor who recognizes the need to close
#Rikers
. In December, we hand-delivered thousands of postcards from New Yorkers demanding urgent action to
#CloseRikers
. We look forward to working with you to get it done! đˇ credit: Cindy Trinh
about 1 month ago
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With the holidays upon us, we asked our members and staff: What's it like to spend the holidays behind bars, or to have a loved one inside? Here's how Eduardo answered. [CONTENT WARNING: includes a story about physical violence by guards]
#CloseRikers
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about 1 month ago
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With the holidays upon us, we asked our members and staff: What's it like to spend the holidays behind bars, or to have a loved one inside? Here's how our members Marco, Anna, Tammy, Angelique, Gino, Luz and Deandrae answered.
about 1 month ago
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With the holidays upon us, we asked our members and staff: What's it like to spend the holidays behind bars, or to have a loved one inside? Here's how our members Justin and Mario answered.
#CloseRikers
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about 1 month ago
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STATEMENT from Freedom Agenda Co-Director Darren Mack following another tragic death in DOC custody. It is long past time to
#CloseRikers
.
queenseagle.com/all/2025/12/...
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Detaineeâs death after allergic reaction pushes Rikers toll to 15 this year â Queens Daily Eagle
The death toll on Rikers Island continued to rise to its second-highest point in the past four years on Monday when a 33-year-old detainee died after allegedly having an allergic reaction in the cityâ...
https://queenseagle.com/all/2025/12/22/detainees-death-after-allergic-reaction-pushes-rikers-toll-to-15-this-year
about 1 month ago
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"[Mamdani] can, pretty soon after entering office, commit the first [Rikers] land transfer in over four years. Thatâs one thing that he can do [to prevent more deaths there] within his first 100 days."
#RenewableRikers
#CloseRikers
amsterdamnews.com/news/2025/12...
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Black man becomes 14th person to die in custody at Rikers Island as facility remains under scrutiny
Aramis Furse has become the 14th person to die in or immediately after he was found âunwellâ in his Rikers Island cell.
https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2025/12/18/black-man-becomes-14-person-to-die-in-custody-at-rikers/
about 1 month ago
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1/ On 11/3/25, Freedom Agenda members and partners watched as the Vernon C. Bain Center, aka The Boat, floated away from Hunts Point forever. We have been fighting for the Boatâs closure since the organizationâs beginning, and earlier for many of our members.
#CloseRikers
about 2 months ago
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Eric Goldstein of
@nrdc.org
on
#RenewableRikers
"The transformation of Rikers Island into a world-class example of sustainable redevelopment, green jobs and reparative justice would be a legacy accomplishment for Mayor-elect Mamdani."
#CloseRikers
www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...
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Vital City | What is the Future of âRenewable Rikersâ Island?
As Mayor-elect Mamdani presses to close the jail complex, what comes after should come into sharper focus.
https://www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the-future-of-renewable-rikers
about 2 months ago
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reposted by
Tom Ochs
about 2 months ago
Getting ready here to tell the Mayor elect and his team we need to
#CloseRikers
Can think of no better cause to support on International Human Rights Day.
@freedomagendany.bsky.social
@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
@bradlander.bsky.social
@jumaane.bsky.social
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1/ This scathing report from New York City Council investigations division validates what our members have long known â everything about Rikers discourages visiting.
council.nyc.gov/press/wp-con...
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https://council.nyc.gov/press/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2025/12/NYCC-OID-Rikers-Visiting-Report.pdf
about 2 months ago
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STATEMENT from Freedom Agenda Co-Director Darren Mack following another tragic death in DOC custody. It is past time to
#CloseRikers
.
www.nydailynews.com/2025/12/07/r...
about 2 months ago
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reposted by
Justice Committee
about 2 months ago
#WinRozarioâs
family responds: âAG James' cowardly decision not to indict Cianfrocco & Alongi for murdering our beloved son + brother feels like weâre watching Win get murdered all over again⌠If any one of us had done what [they] did, we would have been fired & jailed.â
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Join Danielle Williams and many other interfaith leaders and organizers on International Human Rights Day to learn about the Campaign to Close Rikers and next steps toward erasing this moral stain on our city! We have invited Mayor-Elect Mamdani to join us.
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2 months ago
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We're honored to have members of our team on
@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
's transition team, and excited to get to work with the new administration to deliver on their commitment to
#CloseRikers
. In an NYC that supports all of us to live with dignity and thrive, there's no place for Rikers.
2 months ago
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STATEMENT from Freedom Agenda Co-Director Darren Mack in response to the 13th death at Rikers this year
#CloseRikers
2 months ago
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SAVE THE DATE for a prayer service and panel about closing Rikers on International Human Rights Day, in partnership with interfaith leaders!
#Rikers
#CloseRikers
#GetRikersClosed
#HumanRightsDay
3 months ago
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"My grandkids, their feet will never touch this place...One stain out of New York." - Freedom Agenda Member Lezandre Khadu, whose son Stephan died on VCBC, aka The Boat, on seeing it leave NYC's shores forever Monday
#CloseRikers
www.bxtimes.com/notorious-ri...
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âIt all ends todayâ: notorious Rikers jail barge removed from Hunts Point â Bronx Times
As of Nov. 3, the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center in Hunts Point â better known as the Rikers Island jail barge â is gone for good.
https://www.bxtimes.com/notorious-rikers-jail-barge-removed-from-hunts-point/
3 months ago
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"We deserve an elected official who will protect their constituents by getting rid of a system that works to isolate them from society and destroy their basic human rights." - Stephanie Frias at BronxConnect
#CloseRikers
queenseagle.com/all/2025/10/...
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Opinion: Why New York needs to close Rikers once and for all â Queens Daily Eagle
âWith the mayoral elections coming up, it's important that we seek out representatives who will do right by their constituents and abolish Rikers once and for all. â
https://queenseagle.com/all/2025/10/31/opinion-why-new-york-needs-to-close-rikers-once-and-for-all
3 months ago
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"[The ATI] model succeeds precisely because it treats underlying trauma and instability, directly contrasting with the failure of mass incarceration." - Jason Rodriguez of @lac_news
#CloseRikers
citylimits.org/opinion-the-...
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Opinion: The Next Mayor's Test is Closing Rikersâ Public Safety Demands It - City Limits
"The next mayorâs commitment to public safety shouldnât be measured by how many people they jail, but by how they prevent harm before it happens, and reduce incarceration as a result."
https://citylimits.org/opinion-the-next-mayors-test-is-closing-rikers-public-safety-demands-it/
3 months ago
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reposted by
Tom Ochs
3 months ago
Please read this powerful piece in the Queens Daily Eagle about the closing of the horrific jail barge The Boat. Lezandre Khadu shares her grief over the death of her son Stephan who died at The Boat. T/y Jacob Kaye for this article.
@freedomagendany.bsky.social
#CloseRikers
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"Itâs like a hatchet coming out of my heart. But the wound is still there." - Our member Lezandre Khadu, whose son Stephan died at the Vernon C. Bain Center, aka The Boat, on how our organizing got it permanently closed
#CloseRikers
queenseagle.com/all/2025/10/...
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City to send notorious jail barge to Louisiana in the coming days â Queens Daily Eagle
The notorious floating jail complex off Rikers Island known as âThe Boatâ is being moved south to be turned into scrap metal.
https://queenseagle.com/all/2025/10/29/city-to-send-notorious-jail-barge-to-louisiana-soon
3 months ago
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ICYMI: OP-ED by our Co-Director Darren Mack & Melissa Mark-Viverito "How can we tell which candidates are serious about safety, and which ones care more about stoking our fears than investing in what works?"
bit.ly/CloseRikersM...
#CloseRikers
#NY1Debate
#NYC
#Election2025
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Opinion: NYC Needs a Mayor Who is Serious About Safety - City Limits
"We need a mayor who knows that in a city committed to seeing all of us thrive, there is no place for Rikers Island."
https://bit.ly/CloseRikersMayor
3 months ago
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The first televised debate for NYCâs next Mayor is tonight! We have looked at candidatesâ positions on an issue at the core of our cityâs values -
#Rikers
. We recently interviewed one âcandidateâ whose position on Rikers is crystal clear.
#CloseRikers
youtu.be/qRVbVkrUE7A
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The Grim Reaper says: "Keep Rikers Open!"
YouTube video by Freedom Agenda
https://youtu.be/qRVbVkrUE7A
4 months ago
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The general election for NYCâs next Mayor is just weeks away! To help sort through candidatesâ positions, the Campaign to Close Rikers has put together this handy Voter Guide:
campaigntocloserikers.org/voter-guide
#CloseRikers
#Election2025
#VoterGuide
#KnowYourRights
4 months ago
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As New York City general elections approach and candidates articulate their plans in regard to Rikers Island, the Campaign to
#CloseRikers
issued this statement. đłď¸ Stay tuned for our Voter Guide coming next week.
www.campaigntocloserikers.org/statements-r...
4 months ago
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1/ WE DID IT! Through the continued organizing of from impacted people and allies, the Vernon C. Bain Center aka âThe Boat,â the jail barge is being sold for scrap and removed permanently from our city.
gothamist.com/news/nycs-fl...
#CloseRikers
4 months ago
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Listen to our Community Organizer Edwin Santana and Co-Director Sarita Daftary discuss closing Rikers and our vision for collective empowerment on the podcast War Cry for Our Children! Here's a clip, and listen to the episode here:
bit.ly/WarCryEdwin
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4 months ago
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"I felt so helpless trying to advocate for my son to people who didnât seem to care if he lived or died. Ultimately, [DOC] carelessness killed him, and the only thing worse than knowing that is that [Rikers] continues to kill more people." - Freedom Agenda Member Lezandre Khadu
#CloseRikers
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4 months ago
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Join us on October 9th as we celebrate 5 years of advocacy, organizing, and community power! Let's celebrate how far we've come and raise funds we need to go even further.
wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/webl...
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5 months ago
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"[This decision] affirms what community advocates have been saying for years: Rikers is a place of violence and human suffering, and allowing ICE to prey on people there only deepens the harm." - Freedom Agenda Co-Director
@iamdarrenmack.bsky.social
#CloseRikers
www.amny.com/police-fire/...
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ICE office on Rikers Island remains closed, for now, after state court strikes down Mayor Adamsâ executive order | amNewYork
Elected officials and criminal justice advocates have welcomed a New York State Supreme Court ruling on Monday that struck down an executive order issued by
https://www.amny.com/police-fire/rikers-island/ice-office-rikers-island-court-adams-order/
5 months ago
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reposted by
Tom Ochs
5 months ago
MUST READ from @nickpinto about the lack of urgency to
#CloseRikers
. Love the work that
@sandynurse.bsky.social
&
@nycprogressives.bsky.social
are doing and the organizing done by impacted leaders at orgs like
@freedomagendany.bsky.social
Hope
@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
makes this a priority.
add a skeleton here at some point
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STATEMENT from our Co-Director Darren Mack
@iamdarrenmack.bsky.social
after the twelfth tragic loss of life in DOC custody this year.
#CloseRikers
#Decarcerate
#HumanRights
5 months ago
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reposted by
Hour Children Inc.
5 months ago
Following their weeklong advocacy events,
@freedomagendany.bsky.social
has released an updated publication, Countdown to Closing Rikers Policy Brief. with âkey next stepsâ for New York City to follow through on the legal and moral obligation to close Rikers, by 2027
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August 31 marks two years until the legal deadline to
#CloseRikers
. Erasing this stain on our City will bring joy, relief, and hope to so many New Yorkers. â´ď¸Please share this video to tell Mayor Adams and our next administration we need action NOW to
#GetRikersClosed
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTrg...
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When Rikers is Finally Closed ...
YouTube video by Freedom Agenda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTrgTGFZyaM
5 months ago
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Last night on NY1 with
@errollouis.bsky.social
our Co-Director Darren Mack spoke out about the human rights crisis at
#Rikers
and the urgent need to
#CloseRikers
once and for all. People are suffering and dying in a system that must be dismantled. The time to act is now.
ny1.com/nyc/all-boro...
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Advocates condemn conditions on Rikers Island
The city is legally mandated to close the troubled jail complex by 2027.
https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/inside-city-hall/2025/08/27/advocates-condemn-conditions-on-rikers-island
5 months ago
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Join us TODAY at 12:30PM for a Phone Zap to Free Our People, as part of our week of action marking two years from the legally mandated deadline to
#CloseRikers
by August 31, 2027.
bit.ly/closerikers-827
5 months ago
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STATEMENT from our Co-Director
@iamdarrenmack.bsky.social
after the tenth tragic loss of life in DOC custody this year.
#CloseRikers
#Decarcerate
#HumanRights
5 months ago
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Join us tomorrow, and the rest of this month, to honor David Ruggles and his work for freedom, as we continue to fight to
#CloseRikers
add a skeleton here at some point
6 months ago
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