Public Advocate Jumaane Williams got into a heated argument in Queens on Monday afternoon with the head of a correction officers’ union after making a surprise visit to Rikers Island.
Williams, the second highest-ranking citywide elected official, made the unannounced visit to Rikers Monday morning after, he said, his office received concerns of changes taking place at the Rose Singer Center — notably that of overcrowding in which male inmates have been housed in the female facility.
“It is a housing facility that was, until recently, for women detainees. Apparently, corrections have now begun putting men in those facilities as well. So, there’s concern about what was going on,” Williams said during a press conference on May 5 at the corner of Hazen Street and 19th Avenue, just outside the entrance to the facility. “What we’re seeing here, in my opinion, is not everybody moving in the same direction to actually close Rikers and lessen the population. Quite frankly, we’re seeing some of the opposite.”
But the conference, held in the pouring rain, took a heated turn when Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, confronted Williams and charged that the public advocate had forgotten about his union members.
Encroaching on Williams with a wall of umbrellas and rain running down their backs, things quickly spiraled into a heated debate.
“I have never seen you come in front of this sign strictly for us — never!” Boscio roared, pointing at Williams. “You only come in front of this sign when you are advocating for people in custody.”
“Benny, stop,” Williams said. “I can’t respond to seven people at once.”
Correction Officers’ Benevolent association and Jumaane Williams argue after the Public advocate makes a surprise visit to Rikers Island. pic.twitter.com/luo9pCaMyp
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Boscio told amNewYork that he feels that Williams is not pushing for the rights of officers, who they say are often attacked while working and even sexually assaulted.
“If you’re the Public Advocate, you advocate for all the public, not just those who are incarcerated, and that is my biggest problem about what’s going on here,” Boscio said. “We’re not dealing with turnstile jumpers anymore. You want to release everybody to the public? Okay, so pick your poison. You want crime in the streets?”
Williams, on the other hand, disagreed, saying that he has often spoken in favor of officers who are forced to work long hours in dangerous conditions. Moreover, he also railed that the situation is not a one-choice-only affair, that he believes there are ways to safely deflate ballooning numbers on the island.
“What we’ve seen happen in the state is we’ve seen some people released, particularly folks who are close to having finished serving their time. We’d like to see some more of that happening in the city. We should be focused on not increasing folks to Rikers Island but how do we make sure that people who are on there should not be on there,” Williams said.
In the end, he pointed the finger of blame at Mayor Eric Adams, charging that he wasn’t serious about fulfilling the city mandate to close Rikers in 2027.
”We seem to have an administration that does not really want to close Rikers, that does not agree we should be trying to figure out how we lower the population and still keep people safe,” the public advocate charged.
Inmate activists joining Williams for the press conference also voiced concern for the well-being of those incarcerated after five have already died in DOC custody this year.
“The women are often forgotten. One in four are sexual assault survivors,” Chaplain Dr. Victoria Phillips said. “Over 80% of the women right now in Rikers have a mental health concern that we are not addressing, that COC needs to address, that the judges could actually handle in their courtrooms instead of sending them to Rikers Island.”
Williams charged that he believes there are about a thousand individuals that are currently housed on Rikers who should have been transferred to state prison, but whose reassignments have been delayed due to ongoing officer labor actions.
