Keep on track to close Rikers

It’s commonly said that a budget is a reflection of values, and that truism feels especially pertinent now, when we are in the midst of city budget season. As this process unfolds over the next few months, we hope to see this administration’s enthusiasm for addressing both public safety and equity demonstrated through its funding decisions. In particular, we hope to see recommendations from the Commission on Community Investment and the Closure of Rikers Island included in the Council’s proposed version, and ultimately in the final city budget.

It’s inarguable that one of the best ways to reduce mass incarceration is to invest in people and communities. We know this well from our experiences of living and working in communities marked by disinvestment — for Darren, growing up in Bushwick in the 1990s and going to Rikers as a teenager, and for Jeremy, leading a charity that serves children and families who are often impacted by the damaging impacts of racial segregation and underinvestment.

It’s imperative we focus on preventing individuals from becoming involved in the justice system in the first place, as well as preventing recidivism at an early age. Of course, while the primary benefits of reducing violence are improving overall safety and breaking cycles of trauma in our communities, we cannot ignore how prevention provides dramatic cost savings. The city spends half a million dollars to incarcerate one person on Rikers Island for one year — money that would be better spent investing in our communities.

With these goals in mind, the Commission and its subcommittees, including the Youth Subcommittee that we were members of, developed detailed recommendations — the majority of which have yet to be implemented or incorporated into city plans.

The subcommittee was guided by a commitment to work in partnership with young people and communities, embrace a more holistic definition of public safety that is supported by research, rooted in well-being principles, incorporate trauma-informed practices, and ultimately promote dignity and justice for all young people.

Our recommendations include scaling the “Healthy Start” initiative, supporting two-generational program models, and expanding the proven work of Cure Violence organizations. Another suggestion is to scale the “Next Steps Transformative Mentoring Program,” which employs credible messengers to engage young men in communities with higher rates of violence through weekly meetings.

At The Children’s Village, we witness how mentorship and a supportive community that encourages vulnerability truly changes lives. But the use of these programs is limited by resources and carried out at a relatively small scale.

We also propose expanding the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) year-round. We appreciate Mayor Adams’ commitment to expanding the summer model, we believe strongly that young adults need employment opportunities beyond July and August. Too many of our young people remain disengaged from school and in New York City, our young people compete with adults for employment. We need to deploy new approaches. At The Children’s Village, for example, we have seen the incredible impact a paid internship can have on a young person’s motivation, confidence and aspirations.

Finally, a key part achieving these goals is to complement prevention with interventions that reduce incarceration and prevent recidivism. Connecting every young person who comes in contact with the justice system with family and supportive community resources at the point of their initial involvement can have a tremendous effect.

And in the case of incarceration, we should always be planning for the day when incarceration ends. In order to accomplish this, we need better coordination and ways to navigate proven community resources, prioritizing and developing more wrap-around models.

We recognize that implementing any or all of these recommendations would be a significant undertaking for the city. We know that the mayor and his administration are committed to making a dramatic difference in both public safety and equity. That’s exactly what the commission set out to do.

We urge the mayor to implement these recommendations, and to follow through on the plan to close Rikers that was shaped by people from the communities most affected by under-investment and over-incarceration. We know that this will not be easy but we stand ready to support the mayor and his administration work through this ambitious, but necessary, plan. Preventing incarceration on a meaningful scale has the potential to transform this city into the best version of itself.

Mack, co-director of the Freedom Agenda, and Kohomban, CEO of The Children’s Village, are members of NYC’s Commission on Community Investment and the Closure of Rikers Island.