DOC Still Keeps Inmates Languishing In Rikers Intake: Advocates

QUEENS, NY — Inmates languish in intake for far too long in New York City's jails, advocates argued in a new court filing.

The contempt motion filed by attorneys with The Legal Aid Society Thursday accuses the city's Department of Corrections of failing to reliably track and process people out of intake within 24 hours of entering custody.

Federal officials need to intervene in this and other matters as a humanitarian crisis continues on Rikers Island, said Kayla Simpson, a staff attorney with the group's Prisoners' Rights Project.

“To date, the city does not have basic information about how long our clients are forced to languish in intake, risking harm to the human beings warehoused in the truly inhumane conditions there," she said in a statement.

The motion was filed in Nunez v. City of New York — which concerns brutality and excessive force in New York City jails — in response to the DOC's continued intake process failures following a 2021 court order requiring the quick and reliable intake, advocates said.

Since that time, Legal Aid, Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel, LLP, and a federal monitor, have raised concerns about the reliability of the DOC systems that track time in intake, claiming that the city has failed to comply with the order for 14 months.

To combat the issues, Legal Aid and the firm's lawyers wrote that they are now seeking accountability measures including live access to the dashboard system for new admissions, weekly reports from DOC to be provided directly to counsel for plaintiffs, and regular updates on the department's progress to meet its promise of a reliable intra-facility tracking system by March 15.

According to the society, intake units are short-term holding areas, primarily used for admission and discharge to facilities, and are not fit for long-term stays. Basic services such as food and medical attention are significantly delayed or not provided in intake areas, and conditions are frequently overcrowded and unsanitary, the society continued.

In addition, the federal monitor has described conditions in the intake units as “concerning and inhumane,” and has long noted the high levels of use of force that occur there.

Patch reached out to the New York City Department of Corrections for comment.