THE FORTUNE SOCIETY UNVEILS 2024 LEGISLATIVE AND ADVOCACY PRIORITIE

(January 25, 2024, New York, New York) — The Fortune Society’s David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy (DRCPP) today unveiled the organization’s 2024 legislative and advocacy priorities, calling on City and State lawmakers to support measures that promote successful reentry from incarceration, racial justice, expand access to opportunities for people with conviction histories, and improve conditions inside jails and prisons.

“For nearly 60 years, The Fortune Society has played an instrumental role in connecting people impacted by the criminal legal system with the tools, resources, and services they need to support themselves and their families, and be contributing members of their communities,” said Stanley Richards, President and CEO of The Fortune Society.

“I understand firsthand the urgent need to reform the criminal legal system so that directly-impacted people and their families can achieve stability and feel a true sense of belonging. The measures that we are prioritizing this year would bring New York State in line with other jurisdictions, provide incarcerated people with hope and support, and remove barriers to successful reentry – all of which will contribute to greater public safety and well-being. We look forward to working with our partners in these campaigns and our elected leaders across our city and state to achieve these goals.”

Fortune’s legislative and advocacy priorities include:

● #CLOSERikers

An ongoing and desperate humanitarian crisis at Rikers Island has been decades in the making. We must ensure that the law requiring closure of Rikers Island in 2027 is followed, and that we complete and open the planned network of four modern, more humane facilities in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. We also must ensure that people incarcerated in our city jails are treated humanely.

● #BEYONDrosies

#BEYONDrosies advocates for the women and gender-expansive people at the Rose M. Singer Center (Rosie’s) on Rikers Island to reduce the population of those incarcerated to under 100 individuals and close Rosie’s before the City’s 2027 timeline.

● Youth Justice & Opportunities Act – A.3536A/ S.5749A

The Youth Justice & Opportunities Act would expand Youthful Offender status eligibility for people under age 25 who currently face the threat of permanent criminal convictions and adult prison sentences. Young people’s development continues through their mid-twenties. They should not face lifelong direct and collateral consequences for mistakes made during maturation, including difficulties obtaining employment and accessing stable housing. Given that the vast majority of young people arrested in New York are Black and Latinx, this effort is critical to advancing racial justice.

● #CommunitiesNotCages, which includes: o Eliminate Mandatory Minimum Act – S.7871 – eliminate mandatory minimum sentences, providing judges with greater discretion in making individualized determinations, with a presumption against incarceration. o Second Look Act – S.7872 – allow people who have served half or 10 years of their sentences to apply for reconsideration and possible reduction of their terms of incarceration. o Earned Time Act – A.8462B – expand opportunities to earn “good time” and “merit time” credited against a prison sentence.

● 13th Forward, which includes: o No Slavery in NY Act – S.308/A.3142 – prohibit involuntary employment of people in prison and provide that no person in prison would be compelled to provide labor against their will by force or threat. o Fairness and Opportunity for Incarcerated Workers Act – S.416A/A.3481B – establish a New York state prison labor board to create, monitor and enforce an equitable and rehabilitative prison labor system. It would abolish penal servitude by prohibiting the forced labor of incarcerated individuals, providing fair wages and treatment of incarcerated individuals, and banning the use of the labor of incarcerated individuals for earnings.

Fortune will also advocate for the following legislative campaigns and other pieces of legislation in 2024:

● Housing Access Voucher Program – S.568B / A.4021A

The Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP) will establish a statewide rental subsidy program for low-income families and individuals facing eviction, who are currently homeless, or are facing loss of housing. Unlike other subsidy and funding programs, the bill defines “homeless” to explicitly include people being released from, or scheduled to be released from, incarceration, and lacking stable housing upon release. It would be available to people who are not eligible for local or federal rental assistance programs, including New Yorkers with felony conviction histories.

● Jury of Our Peers Act – S.206A / A.1432A

The Jury of Our Peers Act would end New York’s permanent bar on jury service for people with past felony convictions, thus promoting civic engagement. Ending this practice

would also increase the diversity of our juries, enhancing fairness and mitigating racial disparities in outcomes within our criminal legal system. Parole Justice

● Fair and Timely Parole – S.7514/ A.4231

Provides a more meaningful parole review process for incarcerated individuals who are already parole-eligible, and it would ensure that people are evaluated for release based on who they are today, including their rehabilitation, personal transformation, and their current risk of violating the law.

● Elder Parole – S.15A/ A.8855A

Provides incarcerated people aged 55 and older who have already served 15 or more years an opportunity for parole release consideration. This includes some of the state’s oldest and sickest incarcerated people.

● PLAN Act – A.04893/ S.3250

The Preliminary License Application Navigation Act (#PLANAct) aims to remove unnecessary and discriminatory barriers to occupational licenses for individuals with criminal records.

● Reentry for the Inside Out – A.7340/ S.8064

Reentry from the Inside Out (RIO) recognizes that “reentry” must start before people have been released from prison. RIO would require the NY State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to coordinate with social service agencies and non-profits to assist with benefits applications before release and establish a pilot program to provide access to a range of reentry services before and after release.

● Treatment Not Jails – A.8524A/ S.2881B

The Treatment Not Jail (TNJ) Act would expand access to judicial diversion for people with mental health issues and cognitive impairments. The Fortune Society also is a partner in the Justice Roadmap, which consists of a group of organizations and advocates who joined forces to combat the criminal and immigration legal systems that oppress and criminalize Black and brown communities.

About The Fortune Society

Founded in 1967, The Fortune Society has advocated on criminal justice issues for over five decades and is nationally recognized for developing model programs that help people with criminal justice histories to be assets to their communities. Fortune offers a holistic and integrated “one-stop-shopping” model of service provision. Among the services offered are discharge planning, licensed outpatient substance abuse and mental health treatment, alternatives to incarceration, HIV/AIDS services, career development and job retention, education, family services, drop-in services, and supportive housing as well as lifetime access to aftercare.

Fortune has a dual mission of services and advocacy. We use what we learn from our justice impacted staff and leadership and from the people we serve about the obstacles that people with criminal histories face to inform and fuel our advocacy work.

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