rikers island visit

What to Know When Visiting a Loved One at the Rikers Island Jail

By Kim Kelly

New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex has earned a reputation for brutality, violence , and neglect in its 85 years of existence. As the second-largest facility of its kind in the U.S., Rikers’s very name — an angular switchblade of a word — has long struck fear into the hearts of those sentenced to make that long, lonely trip over the East River to the facility. There are currently about 4,100 people incarcerated in Rikers. Historically, the majority of those held at the facility have not yet been convicted of any crime; they’ve been stuck behind bars while they await trial because they’re unable to post bail — in other words, just because they’re poor.

At one point, 16-year-old Kalief Browder was one of them. The Bronx teen was held on Rikers for three years, without a trial or conviction, for allegedly stealing a backpack — a charge that was eventually dismissed. Much of that time was spent in solitary confinement, a practice that has long been condemned as torture . Shortly after Browder’s release in 2015, he died by suicide. Just last year, Layleen Polanco, a trans woman living with epilepsy, died from complications of the disease after being placed in solitary confinement.

Now, one of my favorite people in the world is in there too. Since October, David Campbell has been locked inside those forbidding walls, doing his best to survive what New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s own lawyer, Alphonso David, has called “a savage and inhumane jail that has ruined the lives of too many New Yorkers.” As a result, I’ve seen firsthand what it’s like to visit a loved one on Rikers Island in 2020.

Following years of campaigning by prison abolitionists and other opponents of mass incarceration, the New York City Council is moving forward with an $8 billion plan to shut down Rikers for good, replacing the massive complex with smaller facilities spread throughout four of the city’s five boroughs. (Activists oppose the construction of those new jails too.) For now, with the shut-down process in its early phases and bogged down by numerous hurdles, Rikers is still standing, and those of us who have friends and family inside its walls must continue to make the arduous journey to visit them. And trust me, it’s arduous . The entire system seems set up to make visitation as difficult as possible, but I’ll explain it, step-by-step, to prepare anyone who finds themself needing to make that trip.

The first time we go visit David, my boyfriend and I leave south Brooklyn at 11:30 a.m. It’s a little after 1 p.m. by the time we get up to 21st Avenue in Queens to catch the special Q100 bus to Rikers. The sign that welcomes you to the island is a gaudy hodgepodge of patriotic symbols, and one big banner declares the prison “ Home of New York City’s Boldest .” We cross the bridge, taking in a panoramic view of the city before the jail complex’s jutting walls and strands of razor wire come into view.

Once the bus stops, a corrections officer comes onboard and reads off a list of items that are considered contraband, telling us to leave any such items on the bus, no questions asked. We go into the first security building, where we are lined up on opposite sides of an invisible line and sniffed at by a hulking police dog. The atmosphere that greets us as soon as we enter the complex suggests that we — the visitors — are on thin ice too, and any wrong move would cost us. It’s nerve-racking.

We file back out into the cold to another building. A guard points us to rows of creaky yellow lockers and tells us to stow our personal possessions — phones, toiletries, purses, Metrocards. We’re ushered into yet another building to go through the first of three rounds of metal detectors. I was especially nervous about this step because of Rikers’s notoriously strict dress code . Clothing is strictly policed , and showing up in anything deemed too tight, revealing, or the wrong color will cost you a visit unless you consent to wear a “cover-up garment” — an oversized neon T-shirt . I was mostly concerned about the restriction on jewelry; only wedding rings and religious necklaces are permitted, and I currently have 13 piercings on my face and body. The day before, I swapped out my metal pieces for glass retainers, and was hoping the guards wouldn’t notice them. Luckily, I make it through, though I am still unsure what threat a nose ring could possibly pose.

We then register with a corrections officer, turning over our IDs, giving our fingerprints (which is apparently optional but I was too nervous to risk gumming up the process), and taking a photo. The officer prints out paper passes with our photo, names, and David’s information and tells us to go wait for another bus. TMZ is blaring on a wall-mounted TV. There’s no indication of when the bus is coming, and no one provides us with any further directions, so we continue to follow along behind more seasoned visitors like anxious ducklings.

The bus to the Robert N. Davoren Center finally shows up, and the drive takes two minutes; we literally just cross a parking lot. We line up outside the door, waiting in below-freezing temperatures. Once inside, we’re ushered into a small room papered with warnings about smuggling in contraband. Eventually, the doors are unlocked and one by one we present our papers again, go through yet another metal detector, have our hands stamped with U.V.-light ink, and enter another waiting room with more lockers where we store our jackets (you’re only allowed to have one layer of clothing in the visiting room).

At this point, I tell one officer that I’m entitled to a two-hour visit because I’m traveling from out of state. He peers at my New Jersey state ID and my Chinatown bus receipt, and denies my request. I remove my belt and shoes a final time to pass through the last metal detector, following a female officer’s request to pull the band of my bra away from my body, pull up my pants legs, and pull down my socks. I pass into the final waiting room, consumed with anxiety as I wait for my boyfriend to join me.

By Kaitlyn McNab

By Sarah Emily Baum

By Kara Nesvig

Inside, a big wall-mounted flat screen is stuck on an empty PowerPoint slide. The other visitors, most of whom are women, stare at the walls. The majority are wearing sweatpants or jeans with plain, neutral-colored shirts. I realize why so many women are wearing Uggs; slip-on shoes would’ve saved us a lot of time. After a few minutes, an officer calls out our friend’s last name. We enter another room and wait.

The grim beige walls are painted with inspirational slogans like “loyalty is royalty.” Across the room, couples hold fast to each other, some sneaking kisses when the officers aren’t looking. Most of the other pairs seem to be in romantic relationships, though there are a few kids there visiting family.

Finally, finally, we get to talk to our friend face-to-face. A low row of plexiglass runs down the middle of the bench, separating us from David and making it awkward to hold hands. He says he’s doing as well as he can. We quickly fall back into our normal patterns, and for a minute, it feels like we’re back at the bar or sitting around my kitchen table — just three people laughing and catching up. Then I reach for my phone to show him some dumb meme, and remember it’s locked up. Reality comes rushing back. Nine months to go.

Our allotted hour passes far too quickly. After what feels like no time at all, an officer strides by and barks, “Visiting time is over! Now!” We hug David tight and tell him we’ll be back soon. As we board the bus, Ginuwine’s “Pony” is playing on the radio, which feels both pleasantly bizarre and unspeakably ghoulish. When we get back to the locker room, I turn on my phone to check the time: 4:17 p.m. We’d somehow been in there for three hours.

With hearts both full and empty at the same time, we head back outside to wait for the Q100. Back over the bridge. Back to our subway stop. Back to our freedom. And next month, we’ll be back to do it all again, until the day we can bring him back over the bridge — away from this hopeless island — with us.

Editor’s note: In an email to Teen Vogue , the Department of Corrections said that a visitor handbook with “all visitor-related information” is available online, and that the security protocols are “designed to ensure the safety and security of DOC personnel, people in our custody, and visitors. The DOC also said they’ve tried to “improve the visiting experience” through measures like creating the visitor handbook and providing children visiting their facilities with crayons and drawing books.

Want more from Teen Vogue ? Check this out: What the Prison-Abolition Movement Wants

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A ROADMAP TO CLOSING RIKERS

General information, about rikers island & the borough-based jail system.

In October 2019, the former New York City Council passed, and former Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law, land use plans to create four modern jail facilities and permanently close the jails on Rikers Island. The new facilities will be located closer to courts and communities. The Borough-Based Jails plan is scheduled to be complete by August 2027.

The Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, the Department of Correction, and NYC Health and Hospitals are sponsoring the Borough-Based Jails system. These agencies work together to ensure that the principles of criminal justice reform are manifested in these new facilities.

The Department of Design and Construction is procuring firms to dismantle existing facilities, prepare the sites for new construction, and design and build the new facilities.

For visitor and site information, visit the official NY Department of Correction website.

Quick Links

Rikers island site information.

How to Get to Rikers Island

by Beverly Bird

Published on 23 Aug 2018

Whether a loved one is being held there or you have to visit for other reasons, a trip to Rikers Island definitely isn’t a day at the country club. The island itself totals about 400 acres, and the various prison complexes located there take up much of this land. More than 13,000 inmates and detainees call the place home on any given day, and they receive up to 1,500 visitors on each visiting day. Expect crowds, some waiting and some less-than-pleasant conditions depending on when you visit.

How to get there

There’s only one way on and off Rikers Island: the Rikers Island Bridge. This helps to keep the prison secure, but it can also give visitors fits. The New York City Department of Correction recommends that you take the bus to Rikers: the Q101 from Manhattan, which delivers you directly to the Rikers Island entrance at Hazen Street and 19th Avenue in Queens. From there, transfer to the Q100 line, which takes you over the bridge to the Visit Center.

If you’re determined to drive instead, anticipate having to hunt – and hunt hard – for a parking space. Parking is extremely limited. Take the Triboro Bridge from the Bronx or Manhattan to Queens. If you’re starting out from Brooklyn or Staten Island, take the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. In either case, exit at Astoria Boulevard.

Stay alert at that point because the route you must travel has a few twists and turns that come up at short intervals. Bear left on Astoria Boulevard to access 23rd Avenue, then hang a left on 82nd Street and a right on 81st Street, which becomes 19th Avenue. Turn right again at the first traffic light. This puts you on Hazen Street, where the Rikers parking lot is located. You’ll still need to catch the Q100 bus from there to get from the parking lot to the Visit Center.

When to visit

You can visit Rikers five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday. There are no visiting hours on Mondays or Tuesdays.

That’s the easy part. New York City sets a visiting schedule for inmates and detainees, so you can’t just show up at any time on a visiting day and expect to see who you want to see. Check the city’s website for the schedule to find out when your loved one is permitted to receive visitors. The schedule is based on the first letter of his last name, and it can change monthly. You can usually get the schedule on the website for the current month and a month in advance.

Visiting hours are from 1 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays and from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, but you can expect occasional delays depending on what’s going on at the prison that day.

Security issues and rules

Go first to the Registration Center to check in. You must register before 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays and between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Inmates are limited to one visit per day.

You must pass through a “passive” canine search after you’ve registered; in other words, a dog will sniff around your body for hints of contraband. Provide current identification that includes both a photo and your signature. A driver’s license, employer ID card or nondriver’s license ID will suffice if it has both. Otherwise, a passport is acceptable, as well as a Medicare or Food Stamp ID for the state of New York, a U.S. Armed Services ID Card, a resident alien or permanent resident ID card issued by the U.S. Department of Justice, a diplomatic or consulate-issued ID or an IDNYC card. Children under the age of 16 do not need ID if they’re accompanied by an adult over age 18. A visitor who is 16 or 17 may accompany a minor who is the child of both the visitor and the inmate. In this case, a birth certificate is required to prove it.

Seasonal considerations

Keep in mind that this is an old, somewhat decrepit facility. Yes, there’s air conditioning and heat – at least in visiting areas – but the prison is known to become uncomfortably hot in the summer and frigid in the winter because it’s constructed mostly of concrete and steel. Whatever the weather is outside tends to get trapped inside, resulting in temperature extremes even indoors. Dress lightly if you visit during summer, and wear a sweater if it’s wintertime.

Remember, there’s only that one bridge on and off the island. It’s been known to become impassable in snowy conditions. Flooding of the facilities is common in any heavy rain- or snowstorm.

Then there’s the smell

The facilities on Rikers Island are built over a giant landfill. Initially, the island comprised only 87 acres, which simply wasn’t enough room. The problem was rectified by expanding it with more than 300 acres of ash and garbage. Garbage smells. It produces methane gas as it decomposes. Be prepared to hold your nose against the aroma that’s reportedly reminiscent of rotting eggs. It’s more pervasive on some days than others.

Art and Resistance through Education

Rikers island crisis, updated: july 2023.

What is Rikers?

Rikers Island, an island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx, contains New York City's main incarceration facility. In the fiscal year 2022, Rikers Island had an average daily inmate population of 5,559, with 17,803 admissions over the course of the year. For years, activists have been working to bring attention to the numerous human rights violations and harsh living conditions at Rikers, which has been experiencing an ongoing humanitarian crisis. 

It is important to note that Rikers is a jail, not a prison . It is meant to house individuals held by the courts and awaiting trial, and those sentenced to one year or less of jail time. However, some individuals’ cases have persisted for years, one of the most egregious examples of this being the story of Kalief Browder . According to the 2022 Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report, “data shows that the longer one remains in custody, the greater the likelihood that they will be involved in a violent incident.” As of March 2023 , 86.6% of those incarcerated at Rikers are awaiting trial. 

Like the U.S. mass incarceration system as a whole, Rikers disproportionately impacts Black people and other people of color. According to a NYC Department of Corrections (DOC) report, 55.8% of the individuals incarcerated at Rikers between January-March 2023 (average daily population) are Black. Similarly, 60% of the individuals who have spent a year or more in pretrial detention in NYC jails are Black, although only around 24% of NYC’s population is Black.

January-March 2023 NYC DOC Population Demographics Report

What's happening at Rikers?

Due to severe staff shortages and a growing population, Rikers has become increasingly dangerous for the incarcerated population. Many have been kept in overcrowded intake cells while awaiting admission, denied food or access to toilets and showers, been subjected to high rates of COVID-19 infections with inadequate medical care, and denied countless other human rights and services.

In 2022, lawmakers and activists continued expressing concern for the ongoing issues at Rikers Island. In September 2022, Gothamist published a report with photographic evidence exposing the dire conditions at the institution. Concern related to the understaffing, gang violence, crumbling infrastructure, and mistreatment of inmates at Rikers continued to grow.

Due to the fact that the incarcerated population at Rikers Island is projected to exceed 7,000 in fewer than two years, New York City Department of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina has expressed doubt that the jail could stay within the 3,300 population limit and close its doors by 2027. 

Further information:  

“ A timeline on the closure of Rikers Island”, City & State New York

“Never-before-seen images show Rikers inmates…”, Gothamist

NYC Department of Corrections Facilities Overview

10 Years a Detainee: Why Some Spend Years on Rikers, Despite Right to Speedy Trial

June 2023: DOC Will No Longer Announce Deaths at Rikers

As of the end of May 2023, the Department of Corrections has stopped notifying the media of the deaths of people incarcerated at Rikers. DOC chief spokesperson Frank Dwyer said that notifying the media of deaths “was a practice, not a policy.” For the past two years, the DOC included the names of deceased inmates in their press releases,  as well as their housing facility and the date and time of their death. However, the recent shift has led to the DOC misinforming not only the media, but also the federal monitor responsible for overseeing the deaths and injuries sustained by people he ld at Rikers.

Stanley Richards, who was incarcerated at Rikers in the 1980s and later served as the department’s deputy corrections commissioner under Mayor de Blasio, emphasizes that the department is moving backwards, “back to the way in which jails were managed decades ago.” Kayla Simpson, staff attorney with the Prisoners’ Rights Project at The Legal Aid Society, asserts that “it’s part of a series of attempts to isolate the jails from scrutiny to control the narrative.” By not announcing inmate deaths, the DOC masks the reality of the violent conditions within Rikers and cuts of inmates from federal monitors, from the public, and from their families.

Take Action / How to Help:

Reach out directly to your city council member and NYC Mayor Eric Adams to push your representatives to focus on decarceration and invest in community-based treatment programs and social services.

From NY Coalition to Close the Death Camps: Send commissary funds, and fund the inside, or share the fundraiser of someone who is incarcerated. Here are some ongoing commissary funds: 

Survived & Punished NY Mutual Aid Commissary Fund

Repro Legal Defense Fund (includes commissary & bail)

F2L Relief Fund

Parole Preparation Project Welcome Home Fund

Funds for Edgardo Mejias Family

Commissary Funds for M in Rikers

Participate in future social media campaigns like “ Rikers is a Death Camp ” (through which you can share a post about your abolitionist vision for shutting down Rikers) or “End the Letter Ban Inside NYC Jails Phone Zap” (through which participants pressured DOC Commissioner & the Board of Corrections to allow physical letters into Rikers).

Join the mailing list for Freedom Agenda , a New York-based organization that is fighting to decarcerate New York City and redistribute resources to the communities that have been most harmed by mass criminalization and system racism.

Join Freedom Agenda for member meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 7 PM to take action together and contribute your voice to this movement.

Donate to the Rikers Public Memory Project to support their work to make the closure of RIkers a reality and ensure that its essential problems are never repeated, in New York City or elsewhere; and to make sure that those who are most affected by Rikers can reclaim that history for themselves (from rikersmemoryproject.org).

Sign a petition to demand the mayor, other city officials, judges, and district attorneys cut the number of people held on Rikers, cut the budgets for the NYPD and Department of Correction, shut down Rikers, and invest in housing, healthcare, education, and jobs for affected communities. #CutShutInvestNY

Contact Mayor Adams to shut down Rikers Jail.

Join the Katal Center mailing list to receive updates regarding their work on ending mass incarceration and the drug war in Connecticut and New York.

Organizations/Initiatives: ​

The Confined Arts

Campaign to Close Rikers

Freedom Agenda

The Justice Arts Coalition

Katal Center

NY Coalition to Close the Death Camps

Rehabilitation Through The Arts (RTA)

Right of Return USA

Rikers Public Memory Project

Project NIA

Deaths at Rikers (2023) ​

2/4— marvin pines , 65, 5/16— rubu zhao , 52, 5/27— joshua valles , 31, 7/4— felix taveras , 40, 7/6— ricky howell , 60.

Close Rikers/No New Jails , Josh McPhee (2018)

Deaths at Rikers (2022) ​

During 2022, 19 people d ied at Rikers Island . This is the highest number of deaths at Rikers since 2013, when about twice as many people were incarcerated there.

2/27— Tarz Youngblood , 38

5/7— Dashawn Carter , 25

6/18— Antonio Bradley , 28

7/10— elijah muhammad , 31.

8/30— Michael Nieves , 40

3/17— George Pagan , 59

5/18— mary yehudah , 31.

6/20— Anibal Carrasquillo , 39

7/15— Michael Lopez , 34

9/14— Kevin Bryan , 35

3/18— herman diaz , 52.

5/28— Emanuel Sullivan , 20

6/21— albert drye , 52, 8/15— ricardo cruciani , 68, 9/20— gregory acevedo , 48.

9/22— Robert Pondexter , 59

10/22— Erick Tavira , 28

10/31— Gilberto Garcia , 26

12/11— edgardo mejias , 39.

Learn More:  ​

Tracking the Deaths in the Rikers Island Jail Complex 2022 ( PDF —New York Times—August 16, 2022)

The Q100 bus to Rikers can be a lifeline for families with loved ones inside the jail (NPR—January 19, 2022)

A Look Inside Rikers: ‘Fight Night’ and Gang Rule, Captured on Video ( PDF —New York Times—January 12, 2022)

The future of solitary confinement in New York City jails (NPR—January 9, 2022)

Rikers: The Obituaries. Fifteen people at the jail died in 2021. These are their lives — and how they came to an end. ( PDF —New York Magazine—December 27, 2021)

Eric Adams Says He Wants to Close Rikers. It May Not Be That Simple. ( PDF —New York Times—December 17, 2021)

Rikers Detainees Are Being Transferred From One “Hellhole” to Another (The Nation—October 19, 2021)

How New York City Ended Mass Incarceration for 30 Days and Could Do It Again (Gotham Gazette—October 25, 2021)

No Crime Is Worth That (The Daily—October 14, 2021)

New York's New Death Penalty: The Death Toll of Mass Incarceration in a Post Execution Era (Columbia University Center for Justice—October 12, 2021)

Inside Rikers: Dysfunction, Lawlessness and Detainees in Control ( PDF —New York Times—October 11, 2021)

N.Y.C. Sues Jail Officers, Saying Illegal Strike Worsened Rikers Crisis ( PDF —New York Times—September 20, 2021)

Hochul Orders Release of 191 Detainees as Rikers Crisis Deepen ( PDF —New York Times—September 17, 2021)

AT RIKERS ISLAND, INMATES LOCKED IN SHOWERS WITHOUT FOOD AND DEFECATING IN BAGS (The Intercept—September 16)

Self-Harm Is Exploding In New York City Jails, Internal Numbers Show (The City—September 7, 2021)

Rikers wrath: Families, advocates demand mayor immediately reduce prison population (AMNY—August 31, 2021)

An ‘Absolute Emergency’ at Rikers Island as Violence Increases ( PDF —New York Times—August 24, 2021)

COVID Is Surging Back Into Rikers and NYC Jails (Gothamist—September 15, 2021)

Glaring Racial Disparities Persist in NYC Jails: Study (The Crime Report—April 20, 2021)

January 2022 Rikers Hunger Strike:

In January 2022, around 200 detainees and community members engaged in a hunger strike at the Robert N. Davoren Complex on Rikers Island to protest the jail's unjust and inhumane conditions. Those protesting are asked for basic human services like access to mental health resources.   AMPLIFY: Continue to directly follow and share updates from campaigns led by directly impacted New Yorkers, like  #HALTsolidarity @NYCAIC . GET INVOLVED: Sign up and make continued efforts to support advocacy days from organizations like  RAPP . We will leave this information available as long as it continues to responsibly bring awareness to what’s going on. Always follow, listen to, and honor the work of local organizations led by directly impacted community members first.

Hundreds at Rikers Protest Conditions, Citing Covid and the Cold ( PDF —New York Times—January 11, 2022)

HEAR IT: Prisoners on Rikers Island stage hunger strike against inhumane conditions (AMNY—January 11, 2022)

Rikers Island inmates go on hunger strike over lack of basic services (NY Daily News—January 11, 2022)

Advocates respond to hunger strike in New York City jails (#HALTsolitary—January 11, 2022)

Rikers in 2021: ​

During 2021, Rikers Island, home to New York City’s main incarceration facility, experienced an ongoing humanitarian crisis.  Amidst a breakdown of jail operations, medical staff was unable to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks, and the spread of COVID infections in Rikers became greater than the spread in New York City.

On September 10, 20 21, Ross MacDonald, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Assistan t Vice President of New York City Health and Hospitals Correctional Health Services, wrote an urgent letter to the New York City Council Criminal Justice Committee requesting emergency assistance at Rikers. Afte r 

witnessing the rise of this crisis, MacDonald writes, he does “not believe the City is capable of safely managing the custody of those it is charged with incarcerating in its jails, nor maintaining the safety of those who work there. The [jail] breakdown has resulted in an increase in deaths which we refer to as jail-attributable, where jail conditions meaningfully contributed to the death.” 

At the time MacDonald’s letter was written, 10 people had died in Rikers in 2021, including 4 who committed suicide. Since then, the deaths of 4 incarcerated individuals—42-year-old Isaabdul Karim   ( PDF ), 24-year-old Stephan Khadu  ( PDF ), 64-year-old Victor Mercado  ( PDF ), and 58-year-old Anthony Scott  ( PDF )—have brought the total number to 14. On September 23, In response to Isaabdul Karim’s death, elected officials, individuals affected by Rikers, friends, family, and community groups rallied outside City Hall . Speakers called for Mayor Bill de Blasio and the District Attorneys and Courts to immediately release those held on Rikers, stop sending people to the facility, and shut down the jail complex, among other demands. On Friday, October 15, city and state leaders announced that more than 200 women will be transferred out of Rikers and to state prisons 40 miles north of NYC. This change, which is meant to alleviate the current crisis, will make it difficult for many families to visit their incarcerated loved ones.  

According to Alice Fontier , a Neighborhood Defender Services managing director who toured Rikers Island’s Otis Bantum Correctional Center on September 13, the conditions were “unlike anything that has ever happened [t]here.” Although she’s been visiting Rikers since 2008, the present state of the jail (caused by increasing staff shortages and inhumane conditions) is “the most horrific thing [she’s] seen in [her] life.” 

As an art and human rights organization that works with incarcerated populations, ARTE opposes the inhumane treatment and human rights violations occurring at Rikers Island. We have written this statement to share information and spread awareness about these ongoing violations, offer additional learning resources and support, and guide others towards taking action to help put an end to the current crisis. We would also like to make it clear that ARTE firmly believes in fighting for those affected by the criminal justice system, ending mass incarceration, and implementing transformative justice within our communities. Our current incarceration system is broken and abusive, and our ultimate goals are to combat the systems leading individuals towards incarceration (e.g., police discrimination and brutality, the school to prison pipeline).

While ARTE believes in working towards a future where all people are free, we also believe that all young people deserve the right to education and the arts. Over the last several years, ARTE has partnered with other justice organizations to engage incarcerated young people in visual arts programming focusing on women's rights, gender equality, and toxic masculinity. With the COVID-19 pandemic necessitating the shutdown of in-person programs, ARTE transitioned to a remote version of this work to continue fighting for liberation and with the hope that young people on the inside will know they are never forgotten.

To further contextualize ARTE’s work in jails, we would like to share some information about the importance of art in incarcerated spaces. Prison art continues to be widely overlooked in the mainstream art community, thus depriving incarcerated community individuals of the opportunity to creatively express themselves and perpetuating the lack of educational and art resources in these institutions. Although every facility in the United States has different regulations in regards to commissary items, most incarcerated community members do not have ready access to pencils, pens, and paper. 

The punitive nature of the incarceration system is designed to strip individuals of their identities and values as human beings. As a counteracting force, art presents a creative outlet for individuals to express themselves and can be a powerful method of transformation.  ( Artnews.com , Prison Insight , Marking Time ). Most importantly, prison art works as a form of resistance against prison life and toward uplifting humanity, rehabilitation, self-expression, and liberation. 

• Visit a Person in Custody
• Visit Schedule
• Visit Transportation
• Visiting with Children
• Visitors' Dress Code
• Visitor Satisfaction Survey

Visitor Transportation

The City provides free visitor transportation to and from Rikers at the following locations:

All persons 16 years of age and older must present valid current identification.

Rikers Visit buses are ADA compliant and staffed by drivers with Vision Zero training. In-Person Visits are  available on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Rikers Visit Bus schedule The typical one-way route time is 45 min for the Harlem stop and 60 min for the Brooklyn stop. This is subject to changing traffic conditions and therefore times may vary from those provided in the schedule as we expand this new service.

Call 311 for information about Rikers Visit Bus service.

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Could Trump Go to Prison? If He Does, the Secret Service Goes, Too

Officials have had preliminary discussions about how to protect the former president in the unlikely event that he is jailed for contempt during the trial.

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By William K. Rashbaum

The U.S. Secret Service is in the business of protecting the president, whether he’s inside the Oval Office or visiting a foreign war zone.

But protecting a former president in prison? The prospect is unprecedented. That would be the challenge if Donald J. Trump — whom the agency is required by law to protect around the clock — is convicted at his criminal trial in Manhattan and sentenced to serve time.

Even before the trial’s opening statements, the Secret Service was in some measure planning for the extraordinary possibility of a former president behind bars. Prosecutors had asked the judge in the case to remind Mr. Trump that attacks on witnesses and jurors could land him in jail even before a verdict is rendered.

(The judge, who held a hearing Tuesday morning to determine whether Mr. Trump should be held in contempt for violating a gag order, is far more likely to issue a warning or impose a fine before taking the extreme step of jailing the 77-year-old former president. It was not immediately clear when he would issue his ruling.)

Last week, as a result of the prosecution’s request, officials with federal, state and city agencies had an impromptu meeting about how to handle the situation, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

That behind-the-scenes conversation — involving officials from the Secret Service and other relevant law enforcement agencies — focused only on how to move and protect Mr. Trump if the judge were to order him briefly jailed for contempt in a courthouse holding cell, the people said.

The far more substantial challenge — how to safely incarcerate a former president if the jury convicts him and the judge sentences him to prison rather than home confinement or probation — has yet to be addressed directly, according to some of a dozen current and former city, state and federal officials interviewed for this article.

That’s at least in part because if Mr. Trump is ultimately convicted, a drawn-out and hard-fought series of appeals, possibly all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, is almost a certainty. That would most likely delay any sentence for months if not longer, said several of the people, who noted that a prison sentence was unlikely.

But the daunting challenge remains. And not just for Secret Service and prison officials, who would face the logistical nightmare of safely incarcerating Mr. Trump, who is also the presumptive Republican nominee for President.

“Obviously, it’s uncharted territory,” said Martin F. Horn, who has worked at the highest levels of New York’s and Pennsylvania’s state prison agencies and served as commissioner of New York City’s correction and probation departments. “Certainly no state prison system has had to deal with this before, and no federal prison has had to either.”

Steven Cheung, the communications director for Mr. Trump’s campaign, said the case against the former president was “so spurious and so weak” that other prosecutors had refused to bring it, and called it “an unprecedented partisan witch hunt.”

“That the Democrat fever dream of incarcerating the nominee of the Republican Party has reached this level exposes their Stalinist roots and displays their utter contempt for American democracy,” he said.

Protecting Mr. Trump in a prison environment would involve keeping him separate from other inmates, as well as screening his food and other personal items, officials said. If he were to be imprisoned, a detail of agents would work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, rotating in and out of the facility, several officials said. While firearms are obviously strictly prohibited in prisons, the agents would nonetheless be armed.

Former corrections officials said there were several New York state prisons and city jails that have been closed or partly closed, leaving wings or large sections of their facilities empty and available. One of those buildings could serve to incarcerate the former president and accommodate his Secret Service protective detail

Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for the Secret Service in Washington, declined in a statement to discuss specific “protective operations.” But he said that federal law requires Secret Service agents to protect former presidents, adding that they use state-of-the-art technology, intelligence and tactics to do so.

Thomas J. Mailey, a spokesman for New York State’s prison agency, said his department couldn’t speculate about how it would treat someone who has not yet been sentenced, but that it has a system “to assess and provide for individuals’ medical, mental health and security needs.” Frank Dwyer, a spokesman for the New York City jails agency, said only that “the department would find appropriate housing” for the former president.

The trial in Manhattan, one of four criminal cases pending against Mr. Trump and possibly the only one that will go to a jury before the election, centers on accusations he falsified records to cover up a sex scandal involving a porn star. The former president is charged with 34 counts of felony falsifying business records. If convicted, the judge in the case, Juan M. Merchan, could sentence him to punishments ranging from probation to four years in state prison, though for a first-time offender of Mr. Trump’s age, such a term would be extreme.

If Mr. Trump is convicted, but elected president again, he could not pardon himself because the prosecution was brought by New York State.

Under normal circumstances, any sentence of one year or less, colloquially known as “city time,” would generally be served on New York City’s notorious Rikers Island, home to the Department of Correction’s seven jails. (That’s where Mr. Trump’s former chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg, 76, is currently serving his second five-month sentence for crimes related to his work for his former boss.)

Any sentence of more than a year, known as state time, would generally be served in one of the 44 prisons run by New York State’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

The former president could also be sentenced to a term of probation, raising the bizarre possibility of the former commander in chief reporting regularly to a civil servant at the city’s Probation Department.

He would have to follow the probation officer’s instructions and answer questions about his work and personal life until the term of probation ended. He would also be barred from associating with disreputable people, and if he committed any additional crimes, he could be jailed immediately.

Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.

William K. Rashbaum is a Times reporter covering municipal and political corruption, the courts and broader law enforcement topics in New York. More about William K. Rashbaum

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Trial

News and Analysis

The criminal trial of Trump featured vivid testimony about a plot to protect his first presidential campaign  and the beginnings  of a tough cross-examination  of the prosecution’s initial witness, David Pecker , former publisher of The National Enquirer. Here are the takeaways .

Dozens of protesters calling for the justice system to punish Trump  briefly blocked traffic on several streets near the Lower Manhattan courthouse where he is facing his first criminal trial.

Prosecutors accused Trump of violating a gag order four additional times , saying that he continues to defy the judge’s directions  not to attack witnesses , prosecutors and jurors in his hush-money trial.

More on Trump’s Legal Troubles

Key Inquiries: Trump faces several investigations  at both the state and the federal levels, into matters related to his business and political careers.

Case Tracker:  Keep track of the developments in the criminal cases  involving the former president.

What if Trump Is Convicted?: Could he go to prison ? And will any of the proceedings hinder Trump’s presidential campaign? Here is what we know , and what we don’t know .

Trump on Trial Newsletter: Sign up here  to get the latest news and analysis  on the cases in New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C.

Rikers Island CO beaten unconscious by accused murderer who was ‘irate’ about locked cell: DA

A n accused murderer locked up on Rikers Island beat a correction officer — leaving her with broken bones in her face — because he was “irate” that his cell door was locked, prosecutors alleged Thursday.

Tymirh Bey-Foster, 21, was indicted on charges of second and third degree assault for the April 7 attack, which left the city Department of Correction staffer unconscious, and with fractures and a deep cut to her face that required stitches.

“This type of brutal assault will not be tolerated,”  Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement announcing the indictment.

Bey-Foster — locked up on murder charges for a gang-related shooting — allegedly became “irate” that his cell door was bolted while he was outside of it. According to jail protocol, doors must be locked whether an inmate is inside or outside the cell.

But Bey-Foster began threatening the officer, prosecutors said. She told him to stop — and began pepper-spraying him when he refused, she told The Post.

“I gave him a direct order: Stop it!” the 45-year-old DOC staffer told The Post the day after the assault.. “The verbal command didn’t work … and I sprayed straight into his face, but the spray wasn’t effective, and he punched me with his fist.”

The punch caused her head to slam into a wall, knocking her out.

“She suffered fractures to her orbital and sinus bones as well as a deep cut to her face which required sutures,” prosecutors said.

The suspect was eventually subdued by other officers who also pepper-sprayed him.

Believed to be a member of the Money World gang, Bey-Foster was at Rikers after being charged with murder in a 2020 shooting that left a 26-year-old man dead, authorities said.

He allegedly planned the killing and pulled the trigger, erroneously believing the victim partook in an attack on another gang member that day.

“Assaults on Correction Officers happen all too frequently and their assailants must be held fully accountable,” Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association president Benny Boscio told The Post.

“We appreciate the District Attorney charging the inmate in this case swiftly and we continue to vigorously advocate for assaultive inmates, like this one, to face consecutive sentences instead of concurrent sentences for their violent crimes committed in jail.”

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Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center Remote Inmate Video Visits

Rikers island - anna m. kross center.

Address: 18-18 Hazen Street East Elmhurt, NY 11370 Phone: 718-546-3550

REMOTE VIDEO VISITS

Televisiting at the rikers island - anna m. kross center, rikers island and all nyc doc jails.

Televisiting will take place from 8:00am to 2:00pm on Saturday, and 8:00am to 2:00pm on Sunday. Televisiting follows the Department's existing in-person visit schedule, which organizes visit days based on the first letter of the person in custody's last name. Please refer to the Visit Schedule in order to determine which day of the week you may visit your loved one.

VISIT SCHEDULE (changes monthly)

In-person visits will take place Wednesday and Thursday afternoons from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.- and Friday mornings from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Visitors need to arrive 1 hour prior to their scheduled visit time. Visits will follow the existing visitor schedule according to the last name of the individual in custody.

Visiting groups may consist of no more than two (2) adults and one (1) child who will sit on one of the adult’s lap; or one (1) adult and two (2) children, at least one of whom is small enough to sit on someone’s lap.

Detainees may receive visits three (3) times per week. Sentenced individuals may receive visits two (2) times per week. All individuals in custody are limited to one (1) visit session per visit day, regardless of the number of visitors in that session.

Remote Visitation with an Inmate at Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center

Televisiting at rikers island - anna m. kross center, instructions for televisiting can be found on this page:  televisiting page.

• Televisiting will take place from 8:00am to 2:00pm on Saturday, and Sunday.
• Televisiting follows the Department's existing in-person visit schedule, which organizes visit days based on the first letter of the person in custody's last name.
• Refer to the Visit Schedule in order to determine which day of the week you may visit your loved one.

Scheduling a Televisit:

• If you would like to schedule a televisit, you must fill out the Online Televisit Web Form. ONLINE TELEVISIT WEB FORM   When filling out the form, you will be directed to select three potential dates for your televisit to occur.
• In order to make sure equal access is afforded to everyone, you are only able to fill out a request form for the upcoming week. Requests for dates beyond the following week will not be fulfilled.
• IMPORTANT: A visit is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation email at the email address you provided on the televisit request webform . The confirmation email will provide you with the date and time for your visit as well as an access link. If you do not receive a confirmation email within 24 hours of the last requested visit date this means that none of the dates you requested were available.  In that case, you must resubmit another web form with different dates and times.

VISITATION HOURS - ALL  FACILITIES

Wednesday -thursday:    in-person visits: 2:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.  , if you do not have a scheduled visit appointment, your walk-in visit may not be honored if you arrive after 6pm., friday:   in-person visits: 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., if you do not have a scheduled visit appointment, your walk-in visit may not be honored if you arrive after 12pm., saturday - sunday:     televisits: 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m..

It is strongly suggested that all visitors pre-register for their in-person visits. Visitors who do not pre-register, and who do not receive confirmation of their scheduled visit, cannot be guaranteed a visit upon their arrival. Visitors who do not pre-register also may not be able to wait inside, due to social distancing space constraints. To pre-register for an in-person visit please click here .

All Televisits must be scheduled in advance. Click here to schedule a Televisit .

NOTE: the start of visiting hours can be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances.

Facility lockdowns may affect regularly scheduled visit hours.

There are no visits on Mondays and Tuesdays.

What is a video visit?

Video visitation, also known as remote visitation, is quickly becoming the preferred method for visiting an inmate in jail or prison for the following reasons: •    It requires little to no staff, versus the staff required to move inmates to and from the visit and watch over the visit. It saves the Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center money. •    It removes any opportunity for contraband (drugs) to enter the facility. •    It can become a profit center for the facility, given that the revenue generated by visits is shared with the jail. •    While inmates prefer to see family and friends in person, video visitation allows them to visit with them more often, and on a whim. •    Video visitation gives the inmates and their visitors the feeling of more privacy. Video visitation from the perspective of the visitor allows them to visit from their home, their car, at work, and even allows them to take their device to a family or religious gathering. It allows them to give their inmate the feeling of belonging and not being forgotten.

Video visitation can take place on a computer, a tablet or a phone. 

Video visitation saves time. Instead of spending hours driving to the jail, checking in, filling out paperwork, potentially being searched, waiting, and then having a 15–30-minute visit, if it isn’t cancelled at the last minute, the visit can be done from anywhere during a short break in the visitor’s day.

If the visitor does not have access to a phone or computer, they can make an appointment ahead of time and use terminals in the lobby of the jail.

You must also be on the inmate's approved list, even for a video visit.

What are the companies that work with the jails and prisons that allow video visits?

There are several different companies that contract with all the jails and prisons that allow video visitation:

These are the companies in alphabetical order:

CIDNET City Tele Coin Correct Solutions Group Correct Pay Ctel Gettingout GTL Homewav IC Solutions Inmate Canteen Inmate Sales iwebvisits JailATM Jpay Gettingintouch (netvisit) NCIC Prodigy Sales Reliance Securus Smart Communications Tiger Services Visitel In addition, some jails use Microsoft Meeting and Zoom .

How to Rent a Tablet for an Inmate in Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center

To rent a tablet for an inmate in New York County follow these instructions:

• Register here .  It is recommended you use Chrome or Firefox.
• Pay for the subscription using Paypal.
• You get charged the 1st of each month. 
• You get charged a full month even if it's only used for a partial month.
• No activation or early termination fees.
• Your New York County inmate will recieve their tablet in 3-5 business days, after you pay.

• Call -  800-844-6591 or 972-734-1111 .
• Email -  [email protected]

For all New York County information on Tablet Rentals for your inmate, check out our  Tablet Rental  Page.

How do you Visit an Inmate in NYC Rikers or other Correctional facilities?

To lean about inmate visitation in the NYC Correction Department, read the following:

TELEVISITING (Remote Visitation)

To learn more about the Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center inmate visitation procedures, polices and schedules, which change monthly, check out our Inmate Visitation Page .

How Inmates in Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center, Rikers Island and the entire NYC DOC Jail System Make Phone Calls

To find out how Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center makes phone calls, read this information:

• Inmates in the Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center can make 21 minutes worth of domestic calls every three hours, with no call going longer than 15 minutes.
• Inmates in Segregation get less time, and only once a day maximum.
• There is a fee if an inmate wants to buy more phone calling time when incarcerated in the NYC DOC.

For all the information on how to buy time, using tablets to make calls, how much it costs and more, check out out  Inmate Phone  Page.

How to Deposit Money in the Account of an NYC DOC Inmate in Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center

To deposit money in the commissary account of an NYC DOC inmate, follow these instructions:

• You can deposit money online using Jpay , Western Union or Moneygram. The money can also be used for bail.
• You can mail a money order of cashier's check into Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center.
• You can deposit cash into a kiosk that is located in the Vernon C. Bain Center in the Bronx.

For all the information, including links to all of the online deposit methods and addresses fo mailing money orders, check out our  Send Money  Page.

What is the Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center?... Where is it Located?... Who is in Jail There? ... How Many Inmates are There?

• Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center is one of twelve jails in the New York City Department of Correction.
• There are 2388 beds in the facility.
• There are over 47760 of Bookings every year.

For all the information about Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center, how to reach an inmate there, how to find out if the inmate is there, or where he went when he was released, check out our  Family Info  Page.

How to Mail, What Can you Mail and What Can't you Mail to an Inmate in Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center, or Rikers Island or NYC DOC Inmates

To understand the Mail Policies for Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center requires a lot of time and attention as NYC DOC Jails are some of the most permissive in America.

1. Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center allows unlimited mail. 2. They allow packages to be sent in to inmates. 3. They allow magazines, newspapers and books to be sent direct from friends and family. 4. They allow clothing, jewelry, art supplies and all kinds of stuff to be sent to inmates.

In short, to fully understand the Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center and see the full list of things you can mail to an inmate, check out our  Inmate Mail  Page.

How to Look Up an Inmate in Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center, Rikers Island or the NYC DOC Jail System.

To look up an inmate in Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center or any of the New York City Department of Correction follow these instructions:

1. Proceed to the NYC DOC Inmate Locator Page . 2. Type in the inmate's first name, last name or case and book number. 3. If you just type in the first name or last name, you will see a list of every inmate that uses that name. 4. Select your inmate from that list.

For full instructions on how to interpret the information on the Inmate Search Locator including criminal charges, bail, court dates and more, check out our  Mugshots  Page.

How to Order Commissary for Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center, Rikers Island or NYC Jails

Instructions for ordering commissary for Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center will soon be announced. The New York City Department of Correction is rolling out a new commissary system in the Spring of 2022. Inmates will be able to order commissary directly and have it delivered from an outside vendor. Stay tuned for updates.

This jailhouse 'Uber Eats' system will be replacing the current commissary system.

Stay tuned by checking out our  Commissary  Page for Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center

How to Bail out an Inmate in Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center or any NYC or Rikers Island Jail

To Bail out an inmate in Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center or a New York City Jail follow these instructions:

1. You can post bail either online or in person. 2. To post bail online or in person you need the exact name your inmate used when arrested, and their book and case number. You can find this information here . 3. You can use one of multiple payment systems online.... Western Union , Moneygram or Jpay . 4. In person bail payments must be made in Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx. 5. Personal checks or Money Orders exceeding $1,000 will NOT be accepted for bail.

For the complete information on how to bail out someone from Rikers Island - Anna M. Kross Center or any Rikers island or NYC Jail, check out our  Inmate Bail  Page.

Photos of this facility

Inmate Search New York County & City of East Elmhurt

Inmate search state of new york and federal lockups, rikers island anna m. kross center - contact information.

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Poppy harlow to exit cnn.

Harlow, a veteran of the cable network, told colleagues about her departure Friday morning, a couple of months after 'CNN This Morning' was effectively canceled.

By Alex Weprin

Alex Weprin

Media & Business Writer

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Poppy Harlow is leaving CNN .

CNN CEO Mark Thompson announced her departure during the channel’s 9 a.m. editorial call Friday, with the veteran anchor sending an email to colleagues shortly after.

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The anchor was most recently the co-host CNN This Morning , the cable news channel’s morning show. The program, which Harlow most recently hosted alongside Phil Mattingly, was effectively canceled earlier this year, with production moving to Atlanta.

Mattingly subsequently moved to a new role as chief domestic correspondent and a fill-in anchor.

Harlow was part of the original CNN This Morning team , announced by then-CEO Chris Licht in 2022. Harlow was paired with Don Lemon and Kaitlan Collins in the effort to revamp the channel’s morning lineup.

Lemon, of course, was let go from the channel a year ago (Licht followed not long after), while Collins moved to the 9 p.m. hour .

CNN CEO Mark Thompson and Amy Entelis released statements of their own praising Harlow.

“Poppy is a unique talent who combines formidable reporting and interviewing prowess with a human touch that audiences have always responded to,” Thompson said. “She’s been a wonderful colleague at CNN, and we know she will have much success in her future endeavors.” 

Read Harlow’s note:

When I walked in the door at CNN in 2008, I was 25 years old and had never been on live TV. 

Green is an understatement! I passed those three iconic red letters in the hall on day one and thought how lucky I was to be here. 

The nearly two decades since have been a gift. I have been inspired by you and learned so much from you — who are (and will remain) dear friends. I grew up here: as a journalist and as a person. I was allowed to stumble, to falter, and then to try again with the support and care of this CNN family. This place has shaped me as a leader, taught me resilience, shown me the value of perspective and how to make hard decisions.

It is for those reasons that I take this leap and leave CNN with a full heart and deep gratitude.

Mark, Amy and the CNN management team have been wonderful and have given me the space to make this decision. I am very grateful to them.

CNN gave me the opportunity to travel across this country and around the world — often at the worst of times, but when humanity also shows the best of itself. 

Above all, it is the teams of journalists behind each of these stories — producing at all levels — that make it all possible. 

They are everything.

They are the heart of CNN.

There’s been plenty written about what’s wrong with journalism, and the challenges our industry faces. And it does. But there is also so much right with it. At the heart of everything we do is the pursuit of truth — it is the core of CNN. I remain CNN’s biggest fan and I’ll be watching and cheering you on every day. 

For now, my plan is to walk our children to school and pick them up (hopefully they won’t get sick of me!), and to support the evolution of journalism in every way I can, while preserving the human(ity) in it.

I’m excited for what is ahead — and I will be rooting for CNN always.

With gratitude and love.

Poppy 

“The future is now. Roll up your sleeves and let your passion flow. The country we carry in our hearts is waiting.”

                        -Bruce Springsteen

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Harvey weinstein cooling his heels in special rikers cell after overturned rape conviction.

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Sex pest Harvey Weinstein moved back into Rikers Island Friday afternoon, one day after his notorious rape conviction was overturned.

The fallen movie mogul is cooling his heels in a special cell unit at Rikers’ West Facility for inmates with medical issues, his spokesperson confirmed to The Post.

“We are grateful for how smoothly [the NYC Department of Corrections and NYC H+H/Correctional Health Services] handled the return to Rikers,” Juda Engelmayer said, adding that Weinstein is “having his medical needs tended to.”

“At the same time, Juda Engelmayer says that we are cautiously optimistic and are prepared to go to trial, if it comes to that. There are fewer charges now and the deck isn’t going to be illegally stacked against him.

“While we all enjoy the same rights when it comes to our justice system, a defendant has an additional right to due process. We are glad the Appeals Court judges saw it that way.”

Weinstein, 72, was moved to Rikers from Mohawk Correctional Facility in upstate New York ahead of his Wednesday court date in Manhattan Supreme Court, where prosecutors will push for the disgraced film producer to be retried for his bombshell 2020 sex crimes conviction.

“At the Manhattan D.A.’s Office, our Special Victims Division fights each and every day to center survivors, uplift their voices, and seek justice for these horrific crimes. Our mission is to center survivors’ experiences and wellbeing in every decision we make, which we will do as we approach the next steps in this case,” Manhattan District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Emily Tuttle said in a statement.

The Hollywood creep was let off the hook earlier this week when the New York Court of Appeals overturned his sex crimes conviction.

The state’s highest court ruled following a 4-3 vote that testimony from “prior bad acts” witnesses should not have been allowed because it “was unnecessary to establish defendant’s intent and served only to establish defendant’s propensity to commit the crimes charged.”

The “Pulp Fiction” producer was convicted in February 2020 of one count of rape in the third degree and one count of a criminal sex act in the first degree.

He was found guilty at the time for forcibly performing oral sex on former “Project Runway” production assistant Miriam “Mimi” Haleyi and for an attack on hairstylist Jessica Mann — although 28 witnesses shared gut-wrenching testimony during the trial and it’s been reported that at least 80 women have come forward as his victims.

Weinstein was hit with  a 23-year prison sentence  for raping Mann and sexually abusing Haleyi.

The famous rapist lived in a special Rikers cell during that trial because officials feared an incident akin to fellow sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide. Weinstein also suffers from a series of ailments and uses a wheelchair and walker.

Three years later, in February 2023, he was  sentenced to another 16 years in prison  following his trial in Los Angeles for the forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object of Jane Doe 1, an Italian model, at the Mr. C Hotel in the city in February 2013.

Weinstein is set to be extradited to California, where he’ll begin serving out a 16-year sentence there on sex charges.

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Sexual Assault Hotline at  1-800-330-0226 .

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