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Council Member Restler's concerns about changes to jail design and humanitarian issues
5:09:19
ยท
125 sec
Council Member Restler expresses strong disappointment with recent changes made by the Adams administration to the borough-based jail designs, highlighting concerns about the humanitarian aspects of the facilities and the lack of responsiveness from various city departments.
- Restler criticizes the reduction in therapeutic beds for people with mental illness
- He raises concerns about limited access to outdoor space and its impact on inmates' mental health
- Restler expresses frustration with the lack of substantial answers from the administration regarding his suggested improvements
- He emphasizes his disappointment with both the construction process's impact on the community and the projected lesser quality of the final jail facilities
Lincoln Restler
5:09:19
Yeah.
5:09:20
I mean, I just wanna say, and I'll I'll I'll close here, chair.
5:09:23
I appreciate the the latitude.
5:09:26
The changes that have been made by the Adams administration make these jails less humane.
5:09:31
Right?
5:09:32
There had the number of therapeutic beds that are specifically designed to meet the needs of people with mental illness have been slashed in half by mayor Adams and and his administration.
5:09:41
And the access to outdoor space is severely limited.
5:09:44
I do not believe that the outdoor space that you all have designed in the facilities actually being actually meets the standards of being outdoors.
5:09:53
And you know when the average length of stay in Rikers Island is a year plus for folks who have complex cases, not having real access to the outdoors for a year has an enormous impact on people's mental health and well-being.
5:10:09
So I think that the changes that have been made are severely undermine the quality of the jails that we're going to be creating, and I'm really disappointed.
5:10:21
And I've asked a thousand times how do we ensure there's access to the roof and we have recreational space up there so that people can enjoy meaningful outdoor space.
5:10:30
I've asked a thousand times how do we create different staffing models to expand the number of therapeutic beds, and I've gotten no answers of any substance from this administration.
5:10:37
And I realize you're the builders, you're not setting some of these policies, but you're the entity that comes to us that's responsible for asking for answering these questions.
5:10:45
And of course, when the Department of Corrections is here, they say nothing.
5:10:48
They are utterly useless.
5:10:50
So I and I'm being diplomatic.
5:10:52
So I just I I am really disappointed by the caliber of the of the quality of the coordination with our community through the construction process, and I'm really disappointed by the changes that are being made to these jails that are going to deliver a lesser outcome when this process is completed.
5:11:07
And so it's very, very, very, very frustrating.
5:11:11
And I really hope that you and the commissioner will find ways, and Elizabeth will find ways to work with us to try and make improvements along the way because I do not think we're I think that there are serious problems that need to be addressed.
5:11:22
Understood.
5:11:23
Thank you chair.