New York's Most Disturbing Island | The History of Rikers Jail

New York has many islands one of which has been  home to a notorious correctional facility for over   85 years this is Rikers Island for better or worse  a symbol of the American Criminal Justice System   known for its harsh conditions and high-profile  inmates despite its reputation many people have   no idea what really goes on inside its walls and  even fewer are privy to the Island's mysterious   history surrounded by controversies staffed  by over 9 000 officers and home to over ten   thousand inmates this island is camouflaged  by the water surrounding it but today we will   discover its haunting past I'm your host Ryan  silkash and you're watching it's history [Music] these images are very dystopian a necessary evil  perhaps but alarming all the same an island of   412 acres in the bronx's East River filled with  the brutalist buildings that constitute New York   City's largest jail the island in though is  look this way in fact when Dutchman Abraham   ricken first acquired It In 1664 it was under  100 acres in size which was only a fourth of what   it would ultimately become as the years passed  and with the help of donations from John Jacob   Astor the Private Island was used as a training  facility for the Civil War proving helpful and   hence was later sold to the city in 1884 for one  hundred and eighty thousand dollars now you might   recall the Aster family from our previous video  on the Empire State Building but if you missed it   here's a quick refresher in addition to many other  assets they owned the famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel   which would be demolished to make way for the  iconic Empire State State Building anyhow once   New York took over the land the commission of  Charities and Corrections immediately expressed   interest in operating a so-called workhouse there  however this presented a bureaucratic challenge   as technically the jurisdiction of the island  belonged to Long Island City of Queens County   which was not yet a part of New York City so  a resale was required so in 1884 state senator   Frederick s Gibbs introduced a bill authorizing  the action now although there was strong political   contention between the territories then Governor  Cleveland signed off by May of that year and a   new era began the groundwork had been set but it  would be several decades before the bureaucrats   could follow through on their plan this was a  down period for the island only leaving behind   some random if not bizarre news articles along  the way for example in 1895 fishermen discovered   the body of A well-dressed man floating along  the shoreline they towed him to 135th Street   and Harlem River to make a report to the police  around that same time the land was also used as   a farm then in the year 1900 the New York Daily  Tribune reported that a commissioner had claimed   to have discovered gold on the island believing  it to be a Haven of precious metals however upon   formal inspection the man was laughed out of  the office as he had mistaken iron for gold   then finally by 1925 the city began taking more  serious steps to open their notorious jail this   was a desperately needed measure as their current  facility on welfare Island now called Roosevelt   Island was overburdened and dilapidated and  so it was in 1932 the jail opened with the   first iteration being modest compared to what  was to come the original Penitentiary building   was called HDM or the house of detention for  men in recent years it was renamed to James a   Thomas Center and was ultimately closed due to  structural issues two thousand as the City's   population expanded so did the criminal population  meaning that a larger territory was needed for   expansion so with the support of prison labor  landfill was used to enlarge the area this effort   was helped immensely by a Court ruling from 1922  that banned New York City from dumping garbage   into the ocean hence the waste of the city was now  redirected to Rikers Island but this actually made   a lot of sense as before that ruling the island  already had 12 mountains of garbage 40 to 130 feet   tall yet after 1922 they took in an additional  1.5 million cubic yards of trash imagine what a   place this must have been to serve time isolated  on an island filled with the literal garbage of   New York City back then New York City was largely  powered by coal feeding the systems that powered   the skyscrapers of the area that require fired  tons of coal per day and all that hot ash was also   dumped on the island resulting in scattered trash  Heap fires burning through all seasons of the Year   even during blizzards one Warden described the  situation ominously back in 1934 exclaiming quote   at night it's like a forest of Christmas trees  first the little light then another until the   whole Hillside is lit up with little fires it was  beautiful but garbage didn't only bring fire and   smoke no it brought something even nastier that's  right rats and the situation was out of control   they infiltrated the sewage systems getting into  the kitchens showers and cells many measures were   taken to fight the infestation they used poisonous  gas poisonous bait ferocious dogs and pigs but   nothing could really contain the issue this is  when the esteemed Robert Moses stepped in you see   Moses was on a mission to master build New York  a theme I trust you may recall from our New York   history playlist and with the 1939 World's Fair  just around the corner things had to be in order   the fair was to take place in nearby queens and he  couldn't have literal mountains of garbage burning   throughout the night with a rat infested prison  as his backdrop so he organized a Hunting Party   to kill them off converted some of the trash into  a landfill and moved the rest of the waste to the   fresh kills landfill on Staten Island by 1943  Rikers Island had quadrupled in size although   there there was a bit of fluctuation to the exact  measurements since some of the fill was taken from   Rikers to extend the North Branch Airport which  is now of course called LaGuardia the sentiment   was evident when it came to criminals in a way  New York had its version of Australia and some   very unusual events were in store Rikers Island  is basically directly under the flight path of   planes traveling to and from LaGuardia Airport  and curiously its development was somewhat in   parallel with the onset of commercial Aviation  meaning it saw some nearby crashes one of which   came down on the compound's land on February the  1st 1957 Northeast Airlines flight 823 crashed   onto ricard's Island shortly after departing  LaGuardia killing 20 and injuring 78 out of the   95 passengers and six crew the pilot Manning the  flight went on to have something of a career and   crashing as he said survived three plane crashes  in five years Captain Marsh of Miami first crashed   on January the 14th 1952 in the East River 300  yards from Rikers Island the plane was only in   nine feet of water so the captain managed to smash  the window and Escape everyone survived with only   six requiring time in the hospital then again in  1953 his landing gear collapsed and the right wing   of the airplane was torn off at LaGuardia the  subsequent crash in 1957 was actually the only   one to see casualties astonishingly when the crash  occurred inmates immediately ran to the wreckage   undoubtedly saving many lives as a result of  their selfless actions 30 of the 57 inmates   who assisted with the rescue effort were released  immediately with 16 receiving a sentence reduction   by six months this event stands out but there were  other exceptional circumstances in which prisoners   left early for exam Temple during the AIDS crisis  in the 1980s and 90s the prison sometimes granted   early release to terminal HIV positive inmates  so they could die peacefully in their homes   but more on that later by the 1970s conditions  began degrading to unprecedented levels blocks   designed for 240 inmates were now housing over  330. corruption and neglect were the norm and it   became apparent to everyone that this Arrangement  was not sustainable these issues were not new from   the onset of the jail complex smuggling by the  guards was commonplace old newspaper reports   from the 1920s recall guards being prosecuted for  those crimes and more but in the 1970s another   Eternal aspect of the island would show its  face riots in 1975 the complex was overrun   by 1 200 inmates taking five guards hostage they  demanded improved conditions at the overcrowded in   isolated jail in the East River and surprisingly  the authorities met these demands and the guards   were released now not to take the side of the  criminals here but they may have had a point you   see Manhattan had closed significant portions  of its notorious tombs jail with Rikers Island   taking on the spillover the ramifications were  endless here prisoners were routinely illegally   denied visitation Recreation and so on or perhaps  it's best put in the words of Judge Morris Lasker   who described it as quote the most serious and  potentially explosive prison atmosphere to exist   in New York City anyhow the release of the guards  and meeting the conditions of the hostage takers   set a very dangerous precedent hence 200 of  the prison staff began shouting strike and   left the job a gesture that brought no actual  ramifications as nearly all those same guards   returned to work in the following days as for  the prisoners and their complaints about overpop   regulation that wouldn't improve either in fact  conditions were about to get much worse the 1980s   would see the population triple from about 5 000  inmates to 15 000 and with that rise saw a slew of   illnesses such as AIDS tuberculosis syphilis drug  addiction and so on the medical Readiness for so   much disease was utterly ineffective with nearly  20 percent of the population testing positive   for Tuberculosis alone I need to point out an  essential Factor here of the 15 000 inmates at any   given time seventy percent were awaiting trial or  pre-trial release meaning that not only were they   considered legally Innocent but that incarceration  was typically brief they would soon have access   to the outside world contact with a greater  population hence the Cesspool they were living   in was beginning to affect people outside of the  jail you have to remember jail is different from   prison prisons and jails are both facilities where  the government detains individual levels as a form   of punishment or a means of keeping them off the  street for the safety of society however they're   also distinguished jails are usually operated by  local authorities they're intended for short-term   confinement of people awaiting trial or sentencing  who have been convicted of minor offenses and have   sentences of less than a year on the other hand  prisons are typically run by state or federal   government institutions and are designed to House  people convicted of serious crimes with sentences   of one year or more hence jail populations will  without a question have far more contact with   the outside society and this was dangerous to New  York according to the Daily News one person with   tuberculosis returning to a homeless shelter for  example on average infected up to 50 other people   as a result of the public outcry Solutions were  sought to deal with the overcrowding and in 1992   the now famous 800 bed barge was installed nearby  by on the East River to accommodate the extra   inmates perhaps in keeping with the maritime theme  of the landscape in general as it became known   the boat was initially used by New York City's  Department of Juvenile Justice and received many   alterations over the years although the inmates  outright hated the solution it was a cheap and   immediate solution for the city they expanded on  this type of jail boat housing by reconstructing   two British military transport barges from the  Falkland Wars and two 1950s era Staten Island   ferry boats accommodating another 162 inmates  each the ferries were eventually sold for Salvage   around 2003 however the boat remains best efforts  aside the boat solved very little in 1995 the   overpopulation of the jail began menacing nearby  communities who proclaimed their concern about the   environmental impacts of the traffic moving to and  from Rikers Island not to mention all the traffic   accessing the nearby airport Robert Moses probably  rolled in his grave you see the massive Regional   Highway Network cut right through the area to  cap it all off the then Queensborough president   Claire Schumann proposed converting the area  into a recreation space arguing that the jail   was unsustainable proclaiming quote the way things  are now people going to Rikers Island don't have a   place to go to the bathroom a place to eat or a  place to get change for the bus in modern times   it's been said that positive changes are on  the horizon when it comes to quality of life   for inmates but without a doubt Rikers Island  remains in New York City's most notorious jail   and it's interesting to see how it's transformed  the land physically speaking throughout the years   so before wrapping up here today let's have a look  at what remains Rikers Island is connected to the   community via a bridge and it's very close to the  airport as well according to Newsday you could   almost walk from Rikers to airport during low tide  the bridge was opened on November the 22nd 1966   at the price of 10 million dollars and before  that time it was only accessible via boat the   city of New York operated the ferry service and  provided transportation for prisoners staff and   visitors but once the service concluded the docks  were effectively abandoned the ferry port remains   to modern day though they are Rusty and gradually  falling apart running a prison Center on an island   presents some logistical challenges so back in  1985 there was a proposal to Ferry prisoners and   visitors via boat directly from Manhattan but the  idea proved to be too impractical anyhow once on   the complex there are 10 different facilities  with various purposes from detention for adult   males housing sentenced adolescence and segregated  areas for teens The Rose M singer Center houses   adolescents and female adults with the north  infirmary for General medical needs and the West   facility accommodating inmates with contagious  diseases some have called this the world's largest   penal colony and in light of its size it also  requires schools clinics chapels Sports Fields   gyms grocery stores various shops a power plant  and a bus depot and according to unitedstates.org   an Institute on the island also specialized in  housing homosexuals bisexuals and transgender   inmates however that was until 2005 when it was  closed for security purposes which has been a very   problematic issue in general a report by NBC News  described Rikers Island as quote hell plain and   simple with former inmates alleging that prisoners  or technically the accused ran the facility and   a former Warden proclaiming that there was a  shank under every pillow recently some inmates   have been released because the jail itself was  too dangerous the danger affects everyone inside   from the medical staff to the officers and the  prisoners currently the facility has experienced   a staffing crisis with nearly one-third of  correctional officers not showing up to work   at a given time meaning intervention of violence  is limited and searches don't happen but with   thousands of Officer assaults happening yearly  who could really blame them when I first stumbled   upon images of this Jail's rotting ferry port I  knew it was a place of troubling significance but   I couldn't have imagined that it played a role in  so many people's lives at such a grand scale from   average New Yorkers to celebrities who got locked  up there like Tupac or Little Wayne but what I'm   missing in this story are real life accounts I  imagine that some of you watching this video may   have even been incarcerated at Rikers and I'm  really curious to hear your story so if you or   someone you know has been to the island share  your experience in the comments section below   and before you go I want to present you with  another exciting topic this is heart Island it   was New York's so-called Lunatic Asylum back  in the day if you'd like a video about its   history let me know by clicking that subscribe  button and leaving a thumbs up if we get 1   000 new subscribers I'll make a video on  that topic shortly otherwise click join to   watch these episodes commercial free until  next time this is Ryan silkash signing off

Channel: IT'S HISTORY

Views: 723,014

Keywords: rikers island, rikers island tour, rikers island jail, rikers island prison, rikers, inside rikers island, rikers island deaths, rikers island crisis, rikers island inmates, rikers island violence, diane sawyer rikers island, diane sawyer riker's island, island, nyc rikers island, rikers island 90s, rikers island 2022, cbs2 rikers island, rikers island 2015, riker's island, rikers island story, reos de rikers island, rikers island fights, rikers island stories

Id: vqSVfapE0rE

Length: 18min 3sec (1083 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 25 2023