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Q&A
Discussion of Intro 1242 - Creating dedicated roles for Rikers closure
0:29:16
·
3 min
Council Member Sandy Nurse asks about Intro 1242, which proposes creating two dedicated roles for Rikers closure. Jonathan Lippman and Stanley Richards explain the importance of these positions.
- Lippman emphasizes the need for a point person with authority to make things happen at Rikers
- He stresses the importance of having someone dedicated to changing the culture in correctional facilities
- Richards highlights the need for people who can 'get to yes' and cut through bureaucracy
Sandy Nurse
0:29:16
Thank you for that.
0:29:18
So some of the legislation where one piece of legislation we're discussing here today is inspired by your recommendations, Intro twelve forty two.
0:29:26
It's requiring the city to designate two people Yes.
0:29:29
Like a full time crew to be focused on this and and be empowered to really cut through things, get people cooperating.
0:29:39
Can you talk about why you recommended the creation of this role and and and what gap you think it's filling?
0:29:45
Yeah.
Jonathan Lippman
0:29:45
I I think it's one of the most important recommendations that we made.
0:29:49
The problem is and I'm not being critical of this city hall administration.
0:29:55
The point is but there's been no point person.
0:29:59
It's been a revolving door on Rikers.
0:30:01
Every other week someone else is the point person and there's no one to talk with, to negotiate with, to send them over to the council and say look, the council has this idea, you have that idea, get together and let's make it work.
0:30:17
It needs, you know this expression, the czar.
0:30:22
It needs something that does nothing twenty four hours a day other than think about closing Rikers.
0:30:30
It's really one of the great fault lines.
0:30:32
And we've had again, aside from having, no one who we can talk to since day one that we can say this person can make things happen at Rikers.
0:30:44
When you do have someone who you start to talk to, it changes.
0:30:48
So I think it needs the authority Of the mayor- to appoint someone who represents the administration who could deal look with the- would the people on the side suggest lobbying suggestion who could deal with you.
0:31:04
You know, because the two of you together are going to make this work.
0:31:07
So, the one position has been lacking since the beginning is someone who we know can make things happen at Rikers.
0:31:15
The other position, there needs to be someone whose overwhelming commitment twenty four hours a day is to changing the culture.
0:31:23
Because if we just put Rikers in each of the four local jails with the same culture, we're not accomplishing anything.
0:31:31
So that person has to be committed starting now because it really hasn't started yet.
0:31:37
What are those new jails gonna look like, feel like?
0:31:40
And that's why we need two people.
0:31:43
One at corrections to be looking at the new jails, changing the culture, and the other one to looking at getting this done every single day.
Stanley Richards
0:31:52
And I I wanna just summarize that really quick.
0:31:55
My experience in working with the city, the bureaucracy is established to get to know why we can't do something.
0:32:02
And we need two people who can get to yes.
0:32:04
Cut through all the bureaucracies, cut through all of the interagency and agency policies and procedures and bureaucracies and get to yes.
Jonathan Lippman
0:32:16
And work with you principally.
0:32:18
Again, we'll stay on the other side.
0:32:19
They want you to do this, want you to do that.
0:32:21
Work with you day in, day out.
0:32:23
I'm sure you have the same issues we have.