Ponte's announcement follows weeks of steadfast defense by Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has praised Ponte's record as an effective jail reformer, pointing to a decline in inmate population and the end of solitary confinement for teenagers at Rikers. (politico.com)
Martin says fast - tracking the closure of the massive city jail complex will only happen if Cuomo and state lawmakers help reduce inmate population by passing bail, discovery and speedy trial reforms. (nydailynews.com)
But Governor Cuomo's Department of Corrections decided, on a slow summer Friday afternoon, five weeks after the legislative session ended, to announce that four prisons would be shuttered by July 26, 2014, citing a declining inmate population. (news.wbfo.org)