Take Action for Rikers’ Island Prisoners! Demand the City Create an Emergency Evacuation Plan
Mayor Bloomberg has announced that in the event of a hurricane, that he will not evacuate prisoners at Rikers’ Island, claiming instead to have a “contingency plan” in place. The experience of prisoners in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina shows that city authorities will abandon the basic rights of prisoners in the face of disaster.
We can’t let Bloomberg get away with this!
(1.) Demand the city create an emergency evacuation plan by 5pm today to evacuate prisoners at Rikers Island in the event that other areas in Zone B or C around Rikers Island are evacuated.
Call NYC Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs at (212) 788-2485
Twitter: @NYCMayorsOffice
(2.) Call on NY1 to investigate the status of the “contingency plan” for Rikers Island prisoners:
http://www.ny1.com/content/contact_us/
Tel.: 212-691-6397
(3.) Submit evacuation plan demand to city’s website:
–Go to http://nycsevereweather.crowdmap.com/reports/submit/ –this is a website set up by the city for people to submit weather-related service problems. Locate Rikers Island on the map and drag the red marker there.
-Copy and paste this text (or write your own!):
Title: Evacuation plan needed
The city has no evacuation plan for Rikers Island, despite its low elevation and its nearly 13,000 prisoners. Please do not let these individuals, or the ones at the nearby floating Vernon C. Bain Correction Center, suffer.
(4.) Please repost:
Locked Up and Left Behind: New York’s Prisoners and Hurricane Irene
James Ridgeway and Jean Casella | August 26, 2011 at 5:31 pm | Tags: Bloomberg, evacuation, Hurricane Irene, Rikers Island | Categories: New York, politics of punishment |
ALAA Roots -- An Unofficial Site 
There is no answer or voice mail at the Deputy Mayor’s number listed above but the news agency is definitely looking into it.
Comment by Lisa — August 27, 2011 @ 4:35 pm |
Tried again and got through at the Deputy Mayor’s office.
Comment by Lisa — August 27, 2011 @ 4:38 pm |
#Irene +++++ evacuate #rikers immediately !!!
Comment by raspoale — August 27, 2011 @ 4:51 pm |
It is unconscionable that a government official, an elected official, would purposely leave out a plan of evacuation for human beings incarcerated. While certainly, some of the inmates are dangerous, they can be placed in separate quarters designed to keep them contained but safe. I would have been shocked had I not heard about what occurred in New Orleans. NY mayor Bloomberg should lose his job TODAY! If our leaders refuse to have morality at their forefront, they will only lead our children to believe that life has no value if you are down and out. They will believe that they have a right to decide who lives or dies based on how that person fits into society. They will believe that a person’s value is in their skin color, their bank account balance, and that they have a right to judge another by their misdealings.
However, amazingly, all at Rikers haven’t even been convicted of a crime. Some are being held there until their court dates occur. Perhaps they could not afford bail which does not make them guilty of a crime. However, NONE of that matters in this case! These inmates should not have to give a reason for their lives to count! We are NOT gods and Bloomberg hardly seems related to God by his behavior. Wake up! Correct this oversight now and create a safe emergency evacuation plan for those on Rikers island who are in the path of the hurricane!
Thank you for this site!
Comment by Dafina Kuficha — August 27, 2011 @ 5:18 pm |
I definitely submitted a complaint. State officials are showing deliberate indifference towards the lives of these prisoners and pretrial detainees. This is a clear violation of these prisoners Eighth Amendment rights and absolutely deplorable!
Comment by Stephanie — August 27, 2011 @ 5:39 pm |
We must not sit by, knowing cruelly indifferent bureacrats plan to abandon 12,000 souls whom they themselves imprisoned, trapped and helpless in the path of a natural disaster.
A courageous prisoner rights friend reminds us: Remember, don’t repeat, Katrina.
Comment by David Hoffman — August 27, 2011 @ 6:01 pm |
Our brothers and sisters housed on rikers are human beings. They deserve to be treated as such. their lives are important as anyone elses and a plan of action for their safety in needed and required please do something to help them now
Comment by russelle miller — August 27, 2011 @ 6:48 pm |
[…] comes from the ALAA Roots […]
Pingback by Demand an Evacuation Plan for NYC Riker’s Island Prisoners! « Kasama — August 27, 2011 @ 7:01 pm |
They have rights too
Comment by James Rivera — August 27, 2011 @ 7:41 pm |
The People on Rikers are Humans (regardless of whatever) They have rights & deserve safety from this monster storm
Comment by Jayette Lansbury — August 27, 2011 @ 9:32 pm |
The form for #3 is easy to complete. It also can be anonymous
Comment by E.Marino — August 27, 2011 @ 10:50 pm |
[…] safe—but nobody seems to know what it is! Therefore, the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys is demanding that the city create an evacuation plan by 5 PM EST today. So far, however, nobody from the city […]
Pingback by Outrage About Rikers Island Situation Growing | Colonel6's Blog — August 28, 2011 @ 11:39 am |
My fiance is there he is just like all of us he is human and he has the right to be protected!
Comment by Catherine — August 28, 2011 @ 3:08 pm |
It was absolutely unconscionable how quickly the city evacuated the homes of wealthy people in Battery Park City, at the same time that they refused to do anything to assure the safety of incarcerated people on Rikers Island. It was also somewhat offensive to hear the head of the the Correctional Workers’ union say that his main concern was for the safety of the workers. While the safety of these workers is indeed important, so is the safety of the people who are on the island unwillingly, and cannot be evacuated easily after tragedy strikes. These people are clearly entitled to the same safety provisions as wealthy people, or workers who are free to leave the island if conditions become dicey.
Comment by Ellen Fox — August 29, 2011 @ 5:06 pm |