Committee on Criminal Justice meeting
February 19, 2026, 10:00 AM
The Committee on Criminal Justice held an oversight hearing on programming to prevent recidivism and promote public health and safety in the city's jails, and heard Int 0246-2026, which would require jails to return remaining funds in commissary accounts to individuals upon their release from custody.
What was discussed
- Chair Brooks-Powers opens oversight of jail programming and introduces the commissary-refund bill Chairperson Selvena N. Brooks-Powers opened the Committee on Criminal Justice oversight hearing on programming to prevent recidivism, congratulated newly appointed DOC Commissioner Stanley Richards and Probation Commissioner Sharun Goodwin, and framed the day's bill—Intro 246, sponsored by Council
- MOCJ testifies that public health is public safety and details the recidivism picture Director Deanna Logan of the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice testified that the jail population has risen 24% since 2022 to about 6,836—well above borough-based-jail capacity—and that the one-year felony recidivism rate for people leaving Rikers rose from 30% to 32%; she said a high-needs group
- Probation Commissioner Goodwin lays out an evidence-based, listening-first approach Commissioner Sharun Goodwin of the Department of Probation, a 38-year veteran of the agency, testified that probation operates at the intersection of law enforcement and social services and that programming is central, not an add-on; she said she is auditing programs, staffing, and policies against
- DOC Commissioner Richards sets out a four-pillar vision for transforming the jails Commissioner Stanley Richards of the Department of Correction—the first formerly incarcerated person to lead the agency—testified that transforming a system this size is 'a cruise ship, not a speed boat,' and laid out four pillars: safe and humane jails, stronger partnerships, responsible population
- How will being the first formerly incarcerated commissioner shape Richards's leadership? Chair Selvena N. Brooks-Powers asked how Commissioner Stanley Richards's background would shape his priorities; Richards said 35 years of the work taught him that people are not the worst thing they have done and that his approach is to 'get to yes,' valuing uniformed staff, non-uniformed staff, and
- How will DOC improve safety for staff and fix problems like broken cell doors? Asked by Chair Brooks-Powers and later Council Member Gale A. Brewer about officer safety and morale, Commissioner Stanley Richards said many people in custody have mental illness the jails were not designed for and that officers are not clinicians; he named 'corrections 101' priorities—fixing
- Will DOC expand the 6A early-release program to reduce the population? Chair Brooks-Powers and Council Member Tiffany L. Cabán pressed DOC on the 6A early-release program; Commissioner Stanley Richards said he would use every tool—6A, the Just Home project with Health + Hospitals, and diversion with MOCJ and Probation—to safely reduce the population, and Deputy
- Have the reinstated nonprofit programs actually started on Rikers after the 2024 cuts? Chair Brooks-Powers asked whether the newly re-contracted program providers had begun work; Deputy Commissioner Nell Colon said the contracts registered in December and providers are onboarding on the island—the Fortune Society opened its first sober-living community within the prior week—naming the
- Why were only a handful of people approved for supportive housing actually placed from Rikers? Chair Brooks-Powers cited that of 1,009 people at Rikers approved for supportive housing in FY25, at most 14 were placed; Assistant Vice President Jeanette Merrill of Correctional Health Services said CHS applications are almost universally deemed appropriate but that unknown discharge dates and
- How many transitional-housing beds are online, and will MOCJ expand them? Chair Brooks-Powers asked about MOCJ's transitional housing; Chief of Staff Nora Daniel said the program is funded for 1,000 beds with about 800 online and more sites in the pipeline, and that direct transportation from Rikers to beds is a gap being worked on; Director Deanna Logan acknowledged
- Are school-eligible young people in RNDC and restricted housing getting their mandated hours? Council Member Tiffany L. Cabán pressed DOC on the Handberry order requiring three daily hours of school for people under 21 without a diploma; Deputy Commissioner Nell Colon said every RNDC housing unit now goes to school and education specialists follow up on barriers, but conceded that in
- Is DOC actually delivering the mandated five hours of daily out-of-cell programming? Asking on behalf of Council Member Mercedes Narcisse, Chair Brooks-Powers pressed DOC on the five-hour out-of-cell programming mandate; Commissioner Stanley Richards called five hours a minimum and Deputy Commissioner Nell Colon said DOC is re-examining how it defines and counts those
- Is DOC complying with Local Law 42's trauma-informed programming mandate for people under 22? Chair Brooks-Powers asked whether DOC meets Local Law 42's requirement that everyone under 22 receive age-appropriate, trauma-informed programming; Deputy Commissioner Nell Colon said DOC considers itself in compliance, describing evidence-based curricula tailored to 18-to-21-year-olds, staff
- How does CHS keep opioid treatment and mental-health care going after release? Chair Brooks-Powers and Council Member Tiffany L. Cabán asked how Correctional Health Services maintains continuity of care; Assistant Vice President Jeanette Merrill said the KEEP opioid-treatment program—the nation's oldest and largest, serving about one in four people on Rikers—makes community
- Can DOC proactively return the small commissary balances Intro 246 targets? Chair Brooks-Powers asked why DOC can't be more proactive in returning commissary funds; Commissioner Stanley Richards said flatly 'we don't want that money—it belongs to the people in our care' and General Counsel Jim Conroy said about 70% of people in custody have balances under $100, pledging
- How will Probation reverse record attrition and rethink guns and uniforms? Chair Brooks-Powers and Council Member Sandy Nurse pressed Commissioner Sharun Goodwin on Probation's high vacancy rate and morale; Goodwin said she is aggressively recruiting—reviving probation-officer trainees, shortening the academy, and reviewing about 239 applicants—will not require all
- Probation union president warns of record attrition and unsafe caseloads Dalvanie Powell, president of the United Probation Officer Association, testified that over 200 officers left in the past year, giving Probation the city's highest attrition, with Family Court officers carrying 40+ cases and adult-services officers over 100, and called for aggressive hiring
- Independent Rikers Commission: no agency coordinates reentry, and the Close Rikers czar seat sits empty Zachary Katznelson of the Independent Rikers Commission testified that people leaving Rikers face missed handoffs—community providers often aren't even told a client is coming—and urged replicating the 6A program's individualized release plans and filling the Council-mandated full-time Close Rikers
- Brooklyn Defenders: certificates earned inside still matter years later Michael Klinger, a jail-services attorney with Brooklyn Defender Services, welcomed the reinstated $14 million in external programming and illustrated its value with a former teenage client requesting the food-handler, OSHA-30, and automotive certificates he earned at RNDC eight years earlier; he
- NY County Defender Services: fund reentry through public defender offices Maria Colosi of New York County Defender Services testified that public defenders are uniquely positioned to continue past sentencing, describing a federally funded reentry team that plans with clients while incarcerated and meets them at the bus stop on release, and urged the city to make
Agenda
2 items
- T2026-0995 Oversight - Programming to Prevent Recidivism and Promote Public Health and Safety. Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0246-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to returning funds remaining in commissary accounts when incarcerated individuals are released from custody Hearing Held by Committee