The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 75/No. 33      September 19, 2011

 
No evacuation plan in NY
for inmates during storm
 
BY SETH GALINSKY
AND DAN FEIN  
NEW YORK—“I was upset when I first saw on the Internet that Bloomberg wouldn’t evacuate prisoners at Rikers,” said Shakima Lipscomb. She was referring to statements by Mayor Michael Bloomberg as Hurricane Irene was approaching the city.

“How can you say you are not going to evacuate no matter what?” Lipscomb asked after visiting an inmate at the island’s prison complex.

“That’s crazy to have no evacuation plan,” said Elisa Soto. “They are not animals, they’re just like us.”

The Militant interviewed more than 15 people visiting friends and relatives at Rikers September 3.

“We are not evacuating Rikers Island,” Bloomberg had announced August 26. The next day the mayor said the island, which usually has 12,000 prisoners in 10 jails, “is higher than Zone A areas [under mandatory evacuation orders] and it’s perfectly safe.” Rikers is built on landfill.

SolitaryWatch.com, which broke the story, noted that the mayor’s response to a reporter’s question about Rikers showed “more than a hint of annoyance.” The day after the storm, Sharman Stein, a deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Corrections, told SolitaryWatch “there was a complete plan in place to ensure inmates’ safety.” The “plan” involved moving prisoners to different jails on the island.

“If you ask me they didn’t have an evacuation plan,” Mark Holloway told the Militant. “If it was a direct hit, what would the plan be? I’ve been through the jail system myself although not at Rikers. I know how they treat prisoners.”

Kisah Sperling, whose fiancé has been jailed here three months, said she didn’t think prisoners had been in danger. “It’s not a hotel,” she said, “it’s a bunch of criminals.” Conditions at Rikers, which are notorious, had improved in recent years, Sperling added.

Lipscomb doesn’t see much improvement. “They still feed them garbage. Baloney for dinner and just one slice at that.” The Daily News reported in July that Rikers officials in recent years have cut out pepper packets, ice cream, and pudding, as well as reducing bread servings from four slices to two per day.

Overhearing these reporters at the Rikers bus stop, Ryah Gomez interrupted, saying, “When we come to visit, they treat us like we’re inmates. The prison officers want respect, but they don’t treat you with respect.”  
 
 
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