Monitor says Rikers is getting worse as detainee becomes 9th to die this year

Monitor says Rikers is getting worse as detainee becomes 9th to die this year

On the same day a 27-year-old man became the ninth person to die in Department of Correction custody this year, the federal monitor tracking conditions on Rikers Island said reforming the notorious jail complex is a prospect that is “falling even further out of reach.”

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Council to introduce Rikers transparency bills

Council to introduce Rikers transparency bills

After having been accused by judges, advocates, lawmakers, oversight agencies, attorneys and others of failing to be transparent about what happens on Rikers Island, the Department of Correction may be legally required to open its records, video recordings and more to an oversight board should two bills set to be introduced in the City Council on Thursday pass into law.

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Adams to depart for South America

Adams to depart for South America

Mayor Eric Adams and several top officials in his administration will leave New York on Wednesday for several Latin American countries, where he won’t be speaking about the merits of New York City, but rather trying to convince potential migrants that if they come to the Big Apple, they might not get what they are looking for. 

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State commission begins to consider raises for judges

State commission begins to consider raises for judges

Judges in New York State soon could see their first pay increase in eight years, or see their salary remain at the same level it’s been at since 2015 depending on the upcoming work of the commission tasked with determining the salaries for lawmakers, the governor, state agency heads and judges in the Empire State. 

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Advocates call on gov to sign Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act

Advocates call on gov to sign Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act

Monday was International Wrongful Conviction Day, and advocates and officials recognized the day of awareness at City Hall Park, continuing their call for Governor Kathy Hochul to sign the Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act into law.

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Floods engulf Queens

Floods engulf Queens

Torrential rainfall and heavy flooding walloped the Big Apple for hours on Friday, causing a number of issues for Queens residents and others in the five boroughs.  In what is becoming a more and more familiar sight for New Yorkers, flood waters invaded everything from city streets, to low lying coastal areas, to subways stations, to the city’s airports. 

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Far more needed to fully fund civil legal services, court officials say

Far more needed to fully fund civil legal services, court officials say

Top court officials throughout the state gathered in Albany last week to hear from attorneys, judges and everyday New Yorkers about the state of civil legal services in New York. Chief Judge Rowan Wilson led the panel, featuring Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas, Presiding Justices Hector LaSalle, Dianne Renwick and Gerald Whalen, Appellate Division Justice Christine Clark and New York State Bar Association President Richard Lewis, tasked with assessing the needs of the civil legal services industry in the state. 

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Gov signs anti-human trafficking bills into law in Queens

Gov signs anti-human trafficking bills into law in Queens

The governor was in Queens on Wednesday to announce a number of new initiatives to fight human trafficking throughout the state. From inside the Glow Cultural Center in Downtown Flushing, Governor Kathy Hochul signed several bills aimed at decreasing instances of human trafficking, which she called one of the “most enduring forms…of exploitation.”

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