We are calling upon Governor Andrew Cuomo to immediately STOP all jail construction projects in New York State. Incarceration has succeeded in devastating countless lives and communities for decades while never achieving any of its stated public safety goals. Maliciously using the deaths of Layleen Polanco, Kalief Browder, and many other lives lost from abuse by Department of Corrections (DOC) in NYC jails, Mayor de Blasio has decided to keep Rikers Island open indefinitely while beginning the construction of anywhere from 4 to 12 new jails.

The 18-year-old person detained with a history of mental illness who hanged himself on Rikers Island last week, while a group of guards allegedly watched - death, brutality, neglect and abuse are inherent to jails, which do not heal, care, and restore our people and neighborhoods. We now have an opportunity to unite our communities and put an end to the jail building era in New York State. We have many avenues to victory, including forcing Governor Andrew Cuomo to breakaway from New York’s commitment to incarceration and immediately STOP all jail construction projects in New York State.

Despite widespread acknowledgement that jails have only damaged public safety, we are seeing additional jails proposed in Cortland, Broome, and Tompkins County. Although Governor Andrew Cuomo publicly opposed jail expansion plans from Mayor de Blasio, he has quietly partnered with New York City politicians and large pro-incarceration NGO’s to quietly approve an $11 billion dollar jail plan. This deal uses a Design-Build Initiative to expedite jail expansion and allow New York City to acquire public and private funding to build more jails.

Governor Cuomo has refused to release women incarcerated for self-defense by granting commutations; he refuses to commute the sentences of elderly men, women, trans and gender non-conforming people who have already languished in prison for decades, grant clemency to people incarcerated for long terms as youth; and ensure that all death-by-incarceration sentences are abolished. Governor Cuomo has the power to free criminalized survivors of gender violence and survivors of other forms of violence at any time. Governor Cuomo also opposed the progress of even minimal criminal justice reforms, and is now partnering with pro-incarceration politicians like Mayor de Blasio to expand the NYPD by adding 500 cops to the city’s transit system despite massive opposition led by #FTP, #DecolonizeThisPlace and other coalitions.

It is clear: Despite surface public disputes, Governor Andrew Cuomo is united with Mayor Bill de Blasio's effort to incarcerate the working class and poor Black and brown people.

These same politicians proclaim opposition to  President Trump while quietly fueling an anti-immigrant, xenophobic agenda with New York state jail expansion funds greater than the entire budget of Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE). These public jails are corporate welfare for prison profiteers forced out of immigration prisons that can now invest in multi-billion capital budgets for public jails. And if they build it, they will fill it. Even now recently “closed” local jails are being filled with our immigrant neighbors. This is all the more pressing as New York City politicians manipulate outrage over the environmental crisis with “Renewable Rikers” legislation that can allow ICE right back in NYC jails.

New York communities targeted by incarceration are taking care of each other and opposing all politicians who expand surveillance, policing and jails. We will instead invest billions of dollars to heal our communities and address our needs. By unequivocally rejecting jail building and all forms of incarceration, we will build safer, stronger communities as we use our resources to end homelessness in our cities, build a holistic mental health network, create a free, public transit system, and repair public housing.

Our fight in NYC is deeply tied to a statewide push to oppose jail construction anywhere in the state. Despite the many jail expansion plans we have many avenues to victory. We must unite to demand Governor Andrew Cuomo stop jail construction in New York City, Cortland, Broome, Tompkins County and close Rikers Island by March 31, 2020: 90 days after January 1st 2020 with no new jails.

The jail building era is over. Join New Yorkers fighting in a statewide commitment to win billions for the needs of our communities and not for jails!