Mayor de Blasio Announces City Jail Population is Below 9,000 for the First Time in 35 Years

Today,  New York City Mayor Bill deBlasio announced that the New York City jail population has fallen below 9,000, and the City is on track for a monthly jail population below 9,000 for the first time in more than three decades. JoAnne Page, President and CEO of the Fortune Society, is quoted in the official press release:

“The Fortune Society welcomes news that the population of Rikers Island has now fallen below 9,000.  We are proud to be part of the effort to close Rikers through our policy advocacy and through our programs to prevent recidivism and unnecessary incarceration through services at Rikers and post-release, supportive housing, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and alternatives to incarceration and detention.  We are proud that New York City leads the country in reducing both crime and incarceration, but there is much work still to do.  More than half of Fortune’s staff and much of its leadership has been incarcerated at Rikers.  We celebrate this achievement because the life experience of our staff and clients reminds us daily of why reducing the number of people locked up at Rikers matters to the health and justice of our beautiful city.”

Read more on the official website of the City of New York.