Rikers Complaints Will Finally Get Logged

April 8, 2026

One week after a scoop in THE CITY, New York City Councilmember Gale Brewer began drafting legislation to hold the Department of Correction accountable for complaints made by Rikers Island detainees and their families every year. 

Brewer took up the cause in April 2026 after THE CITY reported that New Yorkers made more than 40,000 complaints to 311 about conditions on Rikers in 2025, including medical appointments that had been missed or ignored, and extreme heat and cold inside the jail.

When New Yorkers call 311 to complain about something, every call is logged. Not so at Rikers, where they are sent as “customer comments” to the Department of Correction. Staff are supposed to forward complaints to relevant jail officials. Families are often left in the dark.

One of these complaints came from the mother of Benjamin Kelly, who called to urge medical staff to change her son’s medication after he began hallucinating. No action was taken. Two weeks later, Kelly was found hanging from a bedsheet inside the jail.

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