Mayor Zohran Mamdani put New York City’s troubled jail system on the clock to end solitary confinement — issuing yet another executive order to unravel his predecessor’s actions.
Mamdani signed an executive order directing jail officials to implement a 2024 city law that essentially banned the controversial practice — a measure fought by then-Mayor Eric Adams as critics claimed it would send violence surging at Rikers Island.
“I was elected because of my values, and my promise to always be honest with New Yorkers — and now is a moment for blunt truths,” Mamdani said in a statement Tuesday.
“The previous Administration’s refusal to meet their legal obligations on Rikers has left us with troubling conditions that will take time to resolve.”
Mamdani’s order directs the city Department of Correction to work with the federal monitor overseeing Rikers who blocked implementation of the law to figure out a plan by Feb. 19 that would comply with Board of Correction mandates regulating jail conditions.
The new democratic socialist mayor’s order directs the city Department of Correction and Law Department to figure out a plan within 45 days, or by Feb. 19, to comply with new Board of Correction mandates regulating jail conditions.
Mamdani has yet to name a new DOC boss and is relying on an Adams holdover, Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, to lead operations for now.
The far-left pol has signed 10 executive orders just a week into his tenure, as well as two emergency orders, as he looks to unravel Adams era policies.
One of his first acts as mayor was undoing executive orders that were issued by Adams after his September 2024 indictment on corruption charges, which was ultimately dropped.
City Council members, with the backing of Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, easily passed legislation – Local Law 42 – banning solitary confinement at the sprawling Rikers jail complex in 2024.
The bill also limits how the DOC can use emergency lock-ins and forces the department to report when it uses de-escalation confinement.
But Adams resisted implementing the measure, claiming city jail staff hasn’t used solitary confinement since 2019, and sparking a legal showdown with the council.
A federal judge ultimately sided with Adams, finding a solitary confinement ban could lead to a spike in violence at the jail.
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The head of the union representing correction officers, Benny Boscio, said in a statement staff don’t lock away inmates for 24 hours straight, but need “punitive segregation” for violent prisoners.
“Last year alone, there were nearly 700 assaults on our Correction Officers … These numbers would be much higher if we had no deterrents and were completely prevented from separating violent inmates from the general population,” the Correction Officers Benevolent Association president said in a statement.
“That’s why the previous two mayors and even the Federal Monitor and Judge [Laura Taylor] Swain all agree that maintaining punitive segregation is critical to maintaining safety and security in our jails.”
Boscio urged Mamdani to tour the jail system with him, stressing, “The lives of everyone in our facilities is at stake.”
Mamdani has long decried the horrid conditions at Rikers and vowed on the campaign trail to close the complex by a mandated 2027 date.
In his Tuesday statement, Mamdani praised Williams and the council for “standing up for people on Rikers, despite tremendous opposition from City Hall at the time.”
“We will work closely with the federal monitor and the parties to put the City back on track to end solitary confinement as soon as possible,” he said.
