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...

#WinRozario’s family responds: “AG James' cowardly decision not to indict Cianfrocco & Alongi for murdering our beloved son + brother feels like we’re watching Win get murdered all over again… If any one of us had done what [they] did, we would have been fired & jailed.”

RSVP here: bit.ly/closerikersp...

#Rikers #CloseRikers #GetRikersClosed #HumanRightsDay

Our panel will be moderated by Reverend Rashad Moore (First Baptist Church of Crown Heights), and will include Darren Mack @freedomagendany.bsky.social and Helen Skipper @justicepeerskip. Other speakers will be announced as confirmed.

Our program will feature comments from Reverend Chloe Breyer @interfaithcenterny and Reverend Fred Davie @unionseminary.bsky.social.

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.

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.

STATEMENT from Freedom Agenda Co-Director Darren Mack in response to the 13th death at Rikers this year #CloseRikers

We have also invited Mayor-Elect Mamdani to this event, and plan to deliver to him over 1,000 postcards from New Yorkers urging him to make closing Rikers a priority.
RSVP here: bit.ly/closerikerspanel #Rikers #CloseRikers #GetRikersClosed #HumanRightsDay

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

‘It all ends today’: notorious Rikers jail barge removed from Hunts Point – Bronx Times As of Nov. 3, the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center in Hunts Point — better known as the Rikers Island jail barge — is gone for good.

"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...

Opinion: Why New York needs to close Rikers once and for all — Queens Daily Eagle “With 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. “

"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/...

Check out our Campaign to Close Rikers Voter Guide to learn where the Mayoral candidates stand
www.campaigntocloserikers.org/voter-guide

Opinion: The Next Mayor's Test is Closing Rikers— Public Safety Demands It - City Limits "The next mayor’s commitment to public safety shouldn’t be measured by how many people they jail, but by how they prevent harm before it happens, and reduce incarceration as a result."

"[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-...

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

City to send notorious jail barge to Louisiana in the coming days — Queens Daily Eagle The notorious floating jail complex off Rikers Island known as “The Boat” is being moved south to be turned into scrap metal.

"It’s 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/...

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."

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

Also, an important reminder that as of 2021 New Yorkers on parole or probation, and with past felony conviction are guaranteed the right to vote! #CloseRikers #Election2025 #KnowYourRights #Debate #politics #NYC

NYC Votes Meet the candidates, how to cast your ballot, and why your vote matters.

Be sure to check out the Campaign to #CloseRikers Voter Guide to learn where candidates stand on this critical issue, and visit nycvotes.org for information about registration, voting dates and locations, and more.
#Election2025 #KnowYourRights #Debate #politics #NYC

To help sort through candidates’ positions, the Campaign to #CloseRikers has put together this handy Voter Guide: campaigntocloserikers.org/voter-guide
#Election2025 #KnowYourRights #Debate #politics #NYC

YouTube video by Freedom Agenda The Grim Reaper says: "Keep Rikers Open!"

The first televised debate for NYC’s next Mayor is tonight! We have looked at candidates’ positions on an issue at the core of our city’s values - #Rikers. We recently interviewed one “candidate” whose position on Rikers is crystal clear. #CloseRikers youtu.be/qRVbVkrUE7A

We sent a questionnaire with five questions to mayoral candidates. One candidate responded to our questionnaire, and their full response is online. For those who did not respond to our questionnaire, we sought out public responses where available and included those in the guide.

Also, an important reminder that as of 2021 New Yorkers on parole or probation, and with past felony conviction are guaranteed the right to vote!

#CloseRikers #Election2025 #VoterGuide #KnowYourRights

The general election for NYC’s next Mayor is just weeks away! To help sort through candidates’ positions, the Campaign to Close Rikers has put together this handy Voter Guide:
campaigntocloserikers.org/voter-guide

#CloseRikers #Election2025 #VoterGuide #KnowYourRights

As New York City general elections approach and candidates articulate their plans in regard to Rikers Island, the Campaign to #CloseRikers issued this statement.

🗳️ Stay tuned for our Voter Guide coming next week.

www.campaigntocloserikers.org/statements-r...

5/ While we mark the milestone of The Boat’s permanent emptying & demolition, we call on the next Mayor to finish the job by permanently closing every one of the Rikers Island jails. In Edwin’s words, “It’s time to put them out of existence.” #CloseRikers

4/ “The mayor constantly speaks about the amount of people with mental health challenges incarcerated,” said Cynthia Acevedo, whose brother Gregory died on The Boat in 2022. “He should get them into treatment, and divert them from incarceration in the first place." #CloseRikers

3/ Our organizer Edwin Santana, who was detained on The Boat and Rikers, said in 2022, “Both are filled with people who have been failed by our s social safety net, who are then subjected to conditions that no human being should have to endure.” www.norwoodnews.org/op-ed-why-th... #CloseRikers

Scrapping NYC's 'Modern-Day Slave Ship' The prison barge's sale to a Louisiana scrap metal company closes a grim chapter of New York City history. And more news to start your Wednesday.

2/ Our member Lezandre Khadu, whose son died on The Boat in 2021, said on hearing of The Boat’s final demise, “I can tell people now: If we continue fighting, things will get better. It's proof it actually is happening.” #CloseRikers hellgatenyc.com/scrapping-fl...

1/ WE DID IT! Through the continued organizing of from impacted people and allies, the Vernon C. Bain Center aka “The Boat,” the jail barge is being sold for scrap and removed permanently from our city. gothamist.com/news/nycs-fl... #CloseRikers