Statement of Support for the Hunger Strikers Incarcerated on Rikers Island

The Association of Legal Aid Attorneys - UAW Local 2325 (ALAA) stands in solidarity with the hunger strikers incarcerated on Rikers Island. While conditions on Rikers have always been deplorable, the New York City Department of Corrections’ mismanagement during the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation to unprecedented levels. In 2021, 15 people died while incarcerated on Rikers.1 Individuals on Rikers report being denied access to medical or mental health care, mail, and the law library. In some complexes, detainees are forced to participate in “fight nights.” Almost no precautions are taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In an opinion issued on December 22, 2021, the New York Supreme Court found that the Department of Corrections had “utterly failed the public” by “ignoring the looming threat of a crisis at Rikers Island.”

It is estimated that there are currently around 200 hunger strikers protesting the conditions on Rikers. These individuals bravely do so at the risk of retaliation – one strike leader has already been relocated to another complex because he was “too influential.” New York City officials and the DOC must ensure all individuals on Rikers are given the medical care they need, as well as access to mail and the law library. Furthermore, the ALAA calls on New York City officials and the DOC to decarcerate Rikers. Decarceration is the only way to address the deadly conditions on Rikers and must begin immediately. If these steps are not taken, it will only be a matter of time before Rikers claims its first victim of 2022.

The ALAA stands with the Rikers hunger strikers and commends them for their efforts to do what New York City officials and the DOC will not: enforce the bare minimum of care to which incarcerated people are entitled.