REMARKS
Opening Remarks by Chair Sandy Nurse
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6 min
Chair Sandy Nurse opens the meeting.
Nurse reflects on visits to Rikers Island, sharing firsthand observations and conversations with inmates in solitary confinement.
Emphasizing the harmful effects of solitary confinement, Nurse calls for a reaffirmation of the council's commitment to fundamentally change jail operations by banning the practice. The remarks highlight previous failed reform efforts, misinformation about solitary confinement's existence in city jails, and the necessity for a new approach to justice and rehabilitation.
Speaker 1
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Good morning.
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I am council member Sandy Nurse, Chair of the Council's Committee on Criminal Justice.
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I'd like to welcome you to today's vote to override the mayor's veto of introduction in 549 a.
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I wanna recognize my colleagues who are here.
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I'm gonna do fast roll call.
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Comes member Avila is Keban, Gutierrez, Dela Rosa, Abreu, public advocates, Marni Williams, wrestler Ayala Stevens, Heneath, Jose, Joseph, Narcisse, Sanchez, Marte, Hudson, Williams Rivera.
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I think I got everyone.
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The 1st month into my first term, I did an unannounced visit to Rykers with other colleagues.
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I was able to visit many facilities and units including newly built punitive segregation isolation units.
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I met people who said they were in the box, the box being a shower stall.
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And many who are lacking medical care.
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Throughout my time in the council, I have stood with the families who have loved who have had loved ones taken from them due to their time in solitary confinement, and I've listened to the stories of people who suffered in solitary confinement, the stories that will make you sick to your stomach.
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That is why I'm proud that my first hearing as chair of this important committee will be a vote to reaffirm the council's commitment to ban solitary confinement and fundamentally change the way our jails operate.
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Despite years of some well intentioned efforts at reform and the appointment of a federal monitor, the dangerous and deadly conditions at our city jails still exist, and the spaces where suffering has been the most acute have been those where people are isolated.
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Whether it's solitary confinement, punitive segregation, restrictive housing, lock in or otherwise.
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The administration contends there is no solitary confinement in city jail since 2019, but that statement is inconsistent with what I have witnessed and many others have reported.
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Report reveal, DOC has used cages attached to holding cells and considered that to be out of cell time.
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That people are being locked in decontamination showers and that the department's current iteration of restrictive housing allows for people who choose not to participate in out of cell programming to be chained to desks and where the federal reported the chaos has resulted in an environment not substantially different than punitive segregation.
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It doesn't matter what they call it.
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Prolonged isolation as practiced in New York City jails is simply solitary by another name.
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The administration has argued that discretion to use isolation as punishment is necessary to deter violent behavior.
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However, isolation, even for short durations, can have devastating consequences, and the record of the harm caused by solitary confinement is voluminous.
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It causes self mutilation, anxiety, depression, and psychosis.
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Even after a person is released, spending time in solitary is correlated with an increased risk of suicide.
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A fact, sadly illustrated, by the death of Khalif Brouder in 2015.
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It is past time we take a different approach.
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Introduction 549a ends the practice of excessive isolation as punishment.
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The council has considered all of the information shared by various experts and stakeholders, including people who have lived through solitary, people who have had or lost family members to solitary, such as Leilin Polanco.
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Kaleef Browder, Brandon Rodriguez, and Eric Tavira, other national experts on solitary confinement and violence prevention.
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Including Doctor.
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James Gilligan, Doctor.
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Brandy Lee, Doctor.
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Carrie Cooper's, defender organizations, people working in the jails, the DOC Commissioner, the Federal Monitor, our constituents, and other community members.
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Intro 549A limits the Hartman's ability to use restraints indiscriminately.
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Rids facilities have locked decontamination showers and requires a rationale and fixed duration for emergency lockdowns.
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Despite the misleading rhetoric, the bill does not prevent the department from separating people from the general population who engage in violent behavior.
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It does not bar the use of restraints in all cases, and it still allows the department to make distinctions and how people are supervised in custody.
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Most importantly, the bill aligns city policy with best practices in youth and mental health institutions and successful interventions in adult jails and prisons.
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This bill provides a more effective response to interpersonal violence than current practices, allows for the separation of individuals from the general population for emergency de escalation and then in restrictive housing with the ability to have different supervision and security measures than the general population, including in smaller group settings, allows for an envisions the operation of violence prevention interventions that have proven to reduce violence like the RSVP program, the Meryl Cooper program, and the caps and pace programs as originally operated.
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I wanna thank public advocate, Ramani Williams, for sponsoring this bill, along with my predecessor, who's the former chair of this committee council member, Carlina Rivera, all the co sponsors, and including our speaker.
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I also want to acknowledge all the advocates who worked relentlessly over the years to eliminate solitary confinement.
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I recognize Doctor.
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V, Scott, Sereta, Darren Peter, and many more who have consistently showed up for this fight.
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I wanna especially thank those who not only advocated for its elimination, but who suffered in solitary confinement themselves.
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And those who've had friends and loved ones suffer and die from this cruel and inhumane practice.
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I urge all my colleagues to vote yes to override the mayor's veto of this landmark legislation.
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And I offer the floor to our public advocate, Jamani Williams, to make some remarks.