Mayor Adams says Manhattan stabbing spree was ‘byproduct’ of push to slash Rikers population

Mayor Adams argued Tuesday that past week’s horrific stabbing spree successful Manhattan was the “byproduct” of efforts to slash the inmate colonisation connected Rikers Island.

Ramon Rivera, the stateless antheral accused of sidesplitting 3 strangers during the Nov. 18 attacks, was released aboriginal from Rikers successful mid-October aft getting recognition for bully behaviour portion serving a one-year condemnation connected burglary charges.

In his play property league Tuesday afternoon, Adams said there’s a throughline betwixt Rivera’s aboriginal merchandise — which came adjacent though helium had assaulted a jailhouse defender portion successful custody — and the “constant pressure” the Department of Correction faces to bladed retired the Rikers colonisation earlier the metropolis indispensable by instrumentality shutter the notorious jailhouse permanently successful 2027.

“It’s ironic, immoderate of the aforesaid radical who are critiquing what we’re doing close present are immoderate of the loudest voices astir ‘open Rikers’ to conscionable fto everybody out. This is the byproduct of opening Rikers and conscionable letting everybody out,” Adams said, referring to Rivera’s allegedly unprovoked attacks.

“And we’ve heard it constantly, ‘Why is anybody connected Rikers? No 1 should beryllium connected Rikers.’ So let’s beryllium wide connected what we perpetually person to combat against and say: No, we’re not conscionable letting anybody out. We got to bash it correctly.”

Protestors march from City Hall Park to Foley Square to be a rally calling for the closing of Rikers Island, Sept. 25, 2024 . (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)

Rivera’s present held without bail aft being charged with stabbing a operation idiosyncratic to decease successful Chelsea earlier sidesplitting a fisherman adjacent the East River and a pistillate sitting connected a parkland seat adjacent the United Nations, each wrong a fewer hours.

Adams’ comments came aft Rep. Ritchie Torres, a mean Democrat representing parts of the Bronx, slammed the politician and Gov. Hochul connected Monday, arguing their administrations stock blasted for the deaths of Rivera’s alleged victims.

In a missive addressed to Hochul and Adams, Torres took peculiarly crisp purpose astatine Adams’ Department of Correction.

“The worst offender is NYC DOC, which made the inexplicable and inexcusable determination to merchandise Ramon Rivera aboriginal … The City refuses to clasp DOC accountable for the aboriginal merchandise of a demonstrably unsafe transgression who went connected a stabbing spree. The extremity effect is incompetence that is not lone destructive but deadly for New Yorkers,” wrote Torres, who’s publically considering either moving for politician successful 2025 against Adams oregon for politician successful 2026 against Hochul.

Ramon Rivera, 51, is pictured successful constabulary custody leaving the NYPD’s 10th Precinct stationhouse connected Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Sam Costanza for the New York Daily News)

Asked astir Torres’ disapproval Tuesday, Adams, who’s politically aligned with the congressman, said helium “understands” the lawmaker’s concerns, but that the reasons Rivera got released are complex.

Rivera assaulted a jailhouse defender astatine Bellevue Hospital portion successful custody earlier his sentencing. A quirk successful the instrumentality holds that the Department of Correction tin lone see whether an inmate should beryllium fixed clip disconnected for bully behaviour based connected actions taken aft their sentencing — and Adams said that’s wherefore Rivera got retired aboriginal contempt the Bellevue incident, which became a abstracted case.

To that end, Adams said helium has directed his “team to beryllium down with the Law Department” to find whether the metropolis tin legally contradict inmates aboriginal merchandise based connected actions implicit the people of their full clip successful custody.

Adams besides reiterated his concerns astir the semipermanent program to regenerate Rikers with 4 borough-based jails. He said the program should beryllium modified to necessitate 1 of those jails becomes a intelligence wellness ward and besides called connected the authorities Legislature to enact laws making it easier to unit radical suffering from terrible metallic unwellness into treatment.

“We person to instrumentality the indispensable enactment and halt lying astir it,” helium said.

Mayor Eric Adams visits Rikers Island

Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office

Mayor Adams visits Rikers Island connected Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022. (Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office)

Freedom Agenda co-director Darren Mack, whose enactment has agelong been captious of whether Adams is taking the due steps to comply with the instrumentality to adjacent Rikers, said the politician needs to deliberation astir the issues much holistically.

“Mayor Adams has spent his full medication sending hundreds much radical to Rikers, particularly radical with superior intelligence illness, and it’s been a nonaccomplishment successful presumption of addressing nationalist safety, and that’s due to the fact that Rikers doesn’t code the problems anyone is facing. If anything, it worsens them,” Mack said.

“People coming retired of Rikers look years-long waiting lists for lodging and treatment. Hopefully the politician is yet realizing it’s clip to bash thing astir that, not conscionable speech astir it.”