Dear Editor,
On April 21, former Correction Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi was interviewed on NY1 by Errol Lewis regarding the NYC jail crisis and the appointment of a federal Receivership to manage Rikers Island.
The essence of Schiraldi’s position was that a Receivership is necessary and “laws and contracts” are “obstacles” to fixing Rikers. He implied doing away with some labor laws and union contracts.
This is not the solution to the jail crisis nor is it consistent with the long-established principle of collective bargaining supported and encouraged by the federal government since 1935 with the implementation of the National Labor Relations Act.
The collapse of NYC Correction Department is due to its being abandoned and forsaken from 2014 – 2021 during the last mayoral administration, anti-police political philosophy and the counterproductive policies that coddle and capitulate to violent inmate gangs making the jails unsafe for correction officers and incarcerated persons alike.
Some inmates have become so brazen and insolent that they are committing daily vicious assaults on correction officers and others incarcerated in full view of video cameras many times with impunity.
The anti-law enforcement fringe politicians in NYC behave like a dog chasing its tail. And I ask, what will they do if they catch it? Will they let go and continue the never- ending quest to catch it again or will they perpetually hold on and remain unavailingly frozen in a state of uselessness?
Although the federal government encourages collective bargaining under the NLRA, the Receivership answers to the court and the court has authority over the Correction Department to insure it complies with court orders, pursues reforms and does not violate the Constitution of the United States.
However, thousands of correction officers and incarcerated persons have been seriously injured in the last eight years under the guise of so called “reforms”.
In order to end the jail crisis and keep everyone safe City Hall must cross the political Rubicon and the Correction Department must regain control of Rikers and assert its legal authority under the NYS Penal Law, the NYS Criminal Procedure Law and the NYS Correction Law to achieve jail safety and true reform.
Marc Bullaro
