Anti-Rikers Activists Crash De Blasio Fundraiser At Park Slope Brownstone

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Braving below-freezing temps Monday night, a group of protesters gathered outside the Park Slope brownstone on an upscale stretch of 12th Street near Prospect Park where Mayor Bill de Blasio was holding a private reelection fundraiser.

Donors arriving to the brownstone were greeted by about 20 members and supporters of the #CLOSErikers campaign, which calls for the complete shutdown of NYC's "failed" Rikers Island Jail Complex. JustLeadership USA is leading the campaign in partnership with the Katal Center.

Protesters chanted anti-Rikers slogans and held up signs demanding the mayor close what they called "torture island" for good — and asked fundraiser attendees to bring up Rikers once inside the party.

The mayor arrived to the event around 8 p.m. and took the time to speak to a protester.

De Blasio said he wanted to focus on "one thing that I hope unites us all: We've got to fix the corrections system and make it a lot smaller."

However, protesters continued to insist to the mayor that Rikers is beyond repair, and that it should be permanently closed. They demanded de Blasio come up with a "long term plan" to close the jail.

"You can't be progressive and support Rikers," former Rikers prisoner and #CLOSErikers founder Glenn E. Martin told de Blasio.

De Blasio told protesters they may have to accept a "respectful difference" of opinion about fully closing the jail. He then headed inside to greet his guests.

But outside the 12th Street brownstone Monday night, activists continued to call attention to the fact that — according to NYC Department of Corrections data — nearly 90 percent of prisoners are black and Latino.

They also pointed to statistics saying nearly 80 percent of inmates at Rikers are held pre-trial, mostly because they can't afford bail; and that more than 40 percent of Rikers prisoners have a diagnosed mental illness.

The Department of Corrections provides for the care, custody and control of people accused of crimes or convicted and sentenced to one year or less of jail time. It manages 12 inmate facilities, nine of which are located on Rikers Island.

Martin, founder of #CLOSErikers and JustLeadership USA, told Patch he was 16 when he was arrested for shoplifting. Martin said he spent less than two days in jail waiting for his trial — but was stabbed four times the second day.

When he told jail officers about the incident, Martin said, they laughed in his face and joked about it. He received no medical attention. Martin then spent a year at Rikers following his sentence, where he "quickly realized" the toxic culture of the jail.

"There are other jails in New York," Marton said. "There are smaller jails in the boroughs that don't see the same violence as we see in Rikers."

Martin said de Blasio "holds himself out as this progressive mayor." But if the mayor "really and truly wants a humane criminal justice system in New York City," he said, "it cannot include Rikers Island."

De Blasio has invested $500 million in criminal justice reforms so far in his tenure, and has said he's still considering closing Rikers.

“Creating a culture of safety in our jails is our top priority," a mayoral spokesperson recently told Metro. "While the city continues to examine whether Rikers Island’s closure is feasible and to work with Lippman's Commission, our focus today remains on reform of the correctional system that will make our jails safer now.”

Photo: Patch