Hunger Strike At Rikers + City Expands Voting Rights
The NYC Thorn is a weekly roundup of local political news compiled by members of NYC-DSA.
NO. 253
Monday, January 17
Local News
An estimated 200 incarcerated people at Rikers jail began a hunger strike, now nearly a week old, to protest lack of medical care and other services. Video obtained by the New York Times this week showed incarcerated people on Rikers participating in a gang-led “fight night” and other violent conditions.
Hundreds of New York City students at high schools across the city—including Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech and Stuyvesant—walked out of class to call for remote learning amidst the coronavirus surge caused by the Omicron variant.
Mayor Adams cut the police oversight Civilian Complaint Review Board’s budget by 3%, along with several other city agencies.
Council Member Gale Brewer is likely to chair the Council's Oversight & Investigations Committee against the wishes of Mayor Adams.
Mayor Adams appointed his brother Bernard Adams deputy police commissioner, then demoted him to director of mayoral security after accusations of nepotism. Bernard Adams, a Virginia parking administrator who retired from the police force in 2006, will earn $210,000 a year.
Mayor Adams’ reported pick to head the Economic Development Corporation may have illegally performed lobbying work while he was the head of a real estate trade group.
Elections
New York City enacted a law expanding the right to vote in local elections to over 800,000 non-citizen residents living and working legally in the city. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams will chair a new advisory group assisting the New York City Board of Elections set up the new voter registration process.
Governor Kathy Hochul, NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and Representative Tom Suozzi participated in the first gubernatorial forum.
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