Dozens of protesters marched on Gracie Mansion Saturday to demand the speedy closure of Rikers Island and justice for incarcerated victims of brutality behind bars.
More than 50 activists and ex-inmates called on Mayor de Blasio to improve conditions at Rikers and end what they called a history of abuse.
“Rikers is a human rights crisis,” said organizer Darren Mack of Freedom Agenda NYC. “We are here today standing with family members of people who had died on Rikers. We are here today with survivors of Rikers Island.”
The march from Metropolitan Hospital on Second Ave. was staged as part of Human Rights Week.
Hope Sanders, a Freedom Agenda NYC member who was once incarcerated on Rikers Island, blamed de Blasio for failing to reform Rikers and crack down on abuses by guards during his two terms in office.
“The things that I saw were horrendous,” she said “He’s training them to look at us as less than human.”
Former Rikers nurse Victoria Phillips denounced what she called a culture of brutality and neglect among corrections officers.
“People (never) really hear the cries of those unseen, unheard and never believed,” said Phillips.
Demonstrators held a brief memorial service for several Rikers inmates who have died under what they called unclear circumstances.
Relatives of Christopher Cruz told the marchers they haven’t heard a word from the city about his death inside his cell on Oct. 9.
“It is hard not having him here with us, but it is even harder not knowing what happened to him,” said Taisha Cruz, 20.
Jails on Rikers Island hold prisoners sentenced to short jail terms as well as those awaiting trial. Inmates can spend months in harsh conditions even though they have not been convicted of any crime.
The city plans to close Rikers and open new jails in four boroughs to replace it. The closure was once planned for 2026, but has been pushed back a year.
A spokeswoman for de Blasio said New York is a national leader in ending mass incarceration and has “fundamentally transformed our jails.”
