By Evie Litwok, Witness to Mass Incarceration
On this day when Governor Hochul declares New York to be in a state of emergency due to the expected frigid weather, I wonder what preparations are being made for the thousands of incarcerated people at the Rikers Island jail complex. It’s expected to feel like 20 below tonight and Rikers, with its broken windows and being on the water will feel more like 30 below. These kinds of temperatures should concern the Department of Corrections and Commissioner Molina enough to be proactive in providing thermal underwear, socks, sweatshirts and heavy jackets. With each incarcerated person costing $500,000 each, surely there is money in the budget to provide for warmth.
I am a formerly incarcerated woman who lived in prison during the cold with no heat. I was lucky to be able to purchase hats, gloves , sweatshirts and thermal underwear. But despite wearing layers of clothes, I was chilled to my bones.
It was my personal experience and last year’s brutal winter that inspired my nonprofit, Witness to Mass Incarceration, to raise $45,000 to provide all 5600 incarcerated people with hats, gloves and socks. Six foundations and 265 individuals donated for this cause.
We asked for and received permission from the Rikers Island staff to provide all 5600 incarcerated people with hats, gloves and socks. 37 boxes containing sets of hats, gloves and socks were delivered on March 17th. I was told by Commissioner Molina and Director of Special Projects Allie Robertson that the items were distributed. However, several incarcerated people told me they never received these items. Certainly, if the items were not given out last year, the officials had plenty of advanced weather warnings to give them out this year. At least the items would have provided a little warmth.
If Rikers did not provide any warm clothing in advance of this storm, then we can expect thousands to experience frostbite or even death. And if this is the case, it is truly time to close Rikers and it is time to let go of all senior staff who did nothing humane to prepare for potential harm to people who are their “property”.
