Rikers Island, An Affront to Human Rights: Interfaith Witness and Action to Close Rikers

In response to grassroots organizing, New York City passed a plan in 2019 to close the Rikers Island jails. The plan presents a historic opportunity to end mass incarceration, advance racial justice, reinvest in communities, and build different approaches to safety and accountability. But despite the moral imperative and the legal requirement to close the Rikers jails by 2027, the plan has faced delays and resistance, and more than 60 people have died in New York City jails, or immediately after their release, since the Close Rikers plan was passed.

Join interfaith leaders and organizers on International Human Rights Day to learn about the Campaign to Close Rikers, and next steps toward erasing this moral stain on our city. We have invited Mayor-Elect Mamdani to join us.

Our program will feature comments from Reverend Chloe Breyer (Interfaith Center of New York) and Reverend Fred Davie (Union Theological Seminary), along with Sunita Viswanath, Rabbi Hilly Haber, Sister Selina Fulford, Chaplain Scott Blumenthal, and Reverend James Lynch.

Our panel will be moderated by Reverend Dr. Rashad Moore (First Baptist Church of Crown Heights), and will include Darren Mack (Freedom Agenda), Helen Skipper (NYC Peer Justice Initiative), Stephanie Frias (Urban Youth Alliance), and Jason Rodriguez (the Legal Action Center).