Rikers Island

Two Rikers Officers Die In Crash On Kings Highway, Four Loko Found At Scene

Early yesterday morning, Africaque Smith and Tiffany Underwood, two corrections officers at Rikers Island, were driving along Kings Highway. At one point, their 2004 Nissan Murano veered off the road and into oncoming traffic. The two women's car hit an SUV driven by an off-duty police officer. The ... More >>

Rikers Inmate Found Dead; Sources say Possible Suicide [Updated]

An inmate in a Rikers Island jail was found dead earlier today, in what is being investigated as a possible suicide, the Voice has learned. The 41-year-old inmate, who had a history of arrests and psychiatric issues, was being held in the Anna M. Kross Center on a burglary charge. The Voice is with ... More >>

Teens on Rikers To Get Jail Uniforms; DOC Says It'll Reduce Fights; Inmate Advocate Says Benefit "Debatable"

In another of a range of efforts to reduce violence in the city's jail for teenage inmates, the Correction Department is going to require them to wear uniforms, rather than personal clothing. Correction officials say the move will enhance safety and security among the Robert N. Davoren Center's tee ... More >>

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Antibalas+Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

Little Pepper: Eat Heat

A favorite Sichuan place brings its fire to a new nabe

Edward Gavin, Former City Jails Official, Says Child Welfare Authorities Should Investigate Teen Facility

In the wake of a Village Voice report on violence at a troubled city jail, city and state child welfare authorities should investigate whether adolescents are being abused there, a former high ranking Correction Department official says. "I'm not just talking about the Administration for Children ... More >>

Gail Lewis, Sherman Graham, Jail Supervisors Convicted For Covering Up a Fight

Two senior correction officers were convicted today by a Bronx jury for falsifying a fight report and ordering 14 recruits to cover up the incident back in 2006, authorities said. The jury deliberated for less than three hours in convicting former assistant deputy warden Gail Lewis and current ser ... More >>

Living Colour

Is It Raining? Handy Website Will Tell You!

Are you somewhere with no windows right now? Like an office, or maybe solitary confinement in Rikers? Do you have to go outside soon, and are unsure of what shoes or outerwear to throw on? We can help you.

Rikers Island Has Nothing on DSK's Tribeca Townhouse, Say French Tourists

​It really should not surprise us that Dominique Strauss-Kahn's former house arrest location, at 153 Franklin Street in Tribeca, is now being used as a background for picture-taking French tourists whom we imagine gleefully sporting fanny packs and an unmistakable joie de vivre...but it does, ... More >>

William Giraldo, Accused Brooklyn Rapist, Missed His Wedding for a Court Date

​The 24-year-old accused of raping a Brooklyn woman in Sunset Park on Saturday was arraigned on Wednesday, the very same day he was supposed to have been married. Though police suspect four recent sexual assaults were all carried out by the same man, William Giraldo was identified by just one ... More >>

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Staying Near Ground Zero

​Former IMF chief and alleged sex offender Dominique Strauss-Kahn has left Rikers Island and is being housed in a building near Ground Zero. The building is part of the NYPD's "Ring of Steel," which is a network of private and police cameras near where the Twin Towers used to be. During DSK's ... More >>

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Has Nowhere to Live in NYC

​The ex-IMF director was granted $1 million bail yesterday after being indicted on seven counts in the attempted rape of a hotel maid, but his plans to stay in a Manhattan apartment on East 65th Street while he awaits trial have fallen through, NBC New York reports. Dominique Strauss-Kahn is r ... More >>

Man Tries to Steal Food by Putting it in Pants, Is Unsuccessful

​Food crime is not just an opportunity for the New York Post to make excessively bad puns, it's an opportunity for all of us to laugh. Because when a guy stuffs a dozen packs of smoked salmon in his pants, there's not much else you can do. It seems that Sergey Muzlayov ("the catch of the day a ... More >>

The Weird Sad Loneliness of a Post Prison Lil Wayne

So Lil Wayne finally made it out of Rikers yesterday, walking away from solitary confinement, the Rikers guard who called him a "jackass," and what TMZ pegs as one solitary fan in the parking lot (not the way we heard it). Either way, he's free. And though we know now that he's spoken on the phone ... More >>

Election Weirdness: Sean Bell's Widow vs. The Armed Jail Imam

An intriguing City Council race is heating up in the far reaches of Southeast Queens, where special election will be held on November 2. The six-way race to fill a seat left vacant by late City Councilman Thomas White Jr. pits Sean Bell's widow Nicole Paultre Bell against a popular Rikers Island ja ... More >>

Lil Wayne Bids the Internet a Temporary Farewell

Yesterday, Lil Wayne asked his fans to stop sending him the hundreds of pieces of mail he gets per day, since he can no longer write back. (A violation of jail rules back in May landed him in solitary, where he'll remain until his release from Rikers in November.) And now, today, he's posted his f ... More >>

Madonna's Stalker, Robert Linhart, Gunning for Stalker of the Year Award

​So, you may have heard: Madonna has a stalker. Retired firefighter Robert Linhart, 59 -- gaunt, ice-pick-wielding, crazy-sign-writing, sidewalk-message-scrawling -- is determined to meet her, just determined. So he's pulling out all the stalker stops. Upon his arrest outside of her apartment ... More >>

Two Jail Imams Under Investigation for Carrying Illegal Firearms

On the heels of a scandal involving a Department of Corrections Muslim chaplain who was charged for sneaking razor blades into a Manhattan jail, the Voice has learned that two imams on the Riker's Island jail complex are currently under investigation for carrying illegal firearms. Both imams continu ... More >>

The Sad List of Lil Wayne's Prison Provisions

TMZ.com​Via TMZ, chief ghouls of this particular game: 20 $.44 US postage stamps; 20 envelopes; 10 Nacho Cheese Doritos; 5 Cool Ranch Doritos; 5 Hershey Bars; 5 Hall's; 10 Ruffles; 2 "chocolate chip"; 2 Kool-Aid Punch, 6 Oz. each; 2 Kool-Aid Cherry; 1 "VISTACHEWYCHOCHIPS"; 50 Sugar in Raw; 5 R ... More >>

Bloods Gang Busted in the Bronx

​Thirty-eight reputed members of the Bloods were indicted in connection with a shooting in the Bronx, racking up an array of charges including attempted murder, assault, conspiracy, drug charges and gun possession. That's pretty much gangs in a nutshell. According to NY1, 32 of the suspects ar ... More >>

Lil Wayne Facing Potentially Serious Consequences Over Jail Contraband

​As we reported on Tuesday, Lil Wayne was caught this week at Rikers in possession of various illegal electronics--in this case, headphones, a charger, and, eventually, the MP3 player to which they belonged. Our source pegged the crime as an infraction--possession of contraband--but had no wor ... More >>

Inmate Gets Pregnant in Rikers, Sparking Investigation

​Staff writer Graham Rayman also contributed reporting to this story. Law enforcement officials are investigating how a female inmate got pregnant while being held at Rikers Island, the Voice has learned. After the pregnancy was discovered by a doctor, officials transferred the woman to a qu ... More >>

Results of Librarian Sex Survey about as Exciting as Librarians Actually Having Sex

Is that your card catalog or are you just happy to see me?​Hold onto your library cards, peeps. Will Manley has released the results of the librarian sex survey that Wilson Library Bulletin refused to run in 1992 -- the one which he got fired over. The results are... less than scintillating. B ... More >>

Corrections Officers Beaten with Their Own Batons in Rikers Melee

​ When jail inmates riot, correction officers wearing helmets and carrying shields are called in. They usually put down a disturbance without much resistance. Not so over the weekend in a jail on Rikers Island. When those specially trained riot control officers responded to a disturbance ... More >>

Rikers Island Superstar Lil' Wayne's Pre-Slammer Scrapbook

​ The New York Department of Correction's most exciting inmate since crooked cop boss Bernie Kerik is on his way to jail. Again. Most of us can take a wild guess as to what that's like for all the Regular Inmates of the world: shitty. Want to know what that's like if you're an uberfamous super ... More >>

Lil Wayne Is Probably Going to Rikers Island Today

​Today Lil Wayne will finally enter a plea in a Manhattan courtroom stemming from a 2007 gun charge he caught in New York City. He's expected to start serving time at Rikers Island right away--"I just say I'm looking forward to it," the rapper told Rolling Stone. Maybe. Billboard quotes City D ... More >>

Jail Guard Charged In Inmate Assaults

Prosecutors in the Bronx have indicted a correction officer for beating up two inmates and trying to cover up one of the incidents at jail housing teenage detainees. The case emerged from an broad investigation into problems at the Robert N. Davoren Center that started after the fatal 2008 beating ... More >>

When Making It Rain Goes Wrong: Diddy Edition

​Note to future rappers: it is not enough to conceal the paltry amount of one dollar bills you're secreting into stacks and stacks of otherwise fake $100s. One should also always check the fit of any and all $20,000 rings you might be wearing as you toss the fake money onto the larcenous crowd ... More >>

Rikers Fight Club: New Law a Response to Jail Violence

Following a drumbeat of negative news about the city jail for teenagers, and after the outcry over the murder of 18-year-old Christopher Robinson there, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a bill yesterday that requires the Correction Department to disclose safety and census data on teens in jail.   ... More >>

Times Helpfully Disseminates Our Gillibrand-Tobacco Story

The New York Times has a story today about Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's links to Big Tobacco. It's worth your while, though if you read Tom Robbins' article about the same subject from the February 10 Voice, you'll find much of it familiar. Also you won't find Robbins or the Voice mentioned in their ... More >>

Monday's Headlines: Times plays catch-up on our Rikers Fight Club story

[HARKAVY is now blogging at The Smart Asset]Your Monday New York headlines...Times catching up on the Rikers Fight Club story that the Voice's Graham Rayman has been reporting for nearly two years.More AIG drama: Bailout money went to foreign firms and other big banks that AIG owed in derivative gam ... More >>

Rikers Fight Club: Not Just A Recent Problem

Our "Rikers Fight Club" coverage has prompted additional people to report their own nasty experiences at the teen jail where 18-year-old Christopher Robinson was beaten to death by inmates allegedly working as enforcers for two wayward correction officers.    Cesar Ferrer, now a 29-ye ... More >>

Rikers Fight Club

After indications for more than a year that guards were using inmates as enforcers, New York's jails are rocked by a pair of indictments

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Foxy Brown Wimps Out on Brooklyn's Don Diva

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Angela Davis takes on the criminal justice system