City Council Passes Grievance Bills Introduced by Progressive Caucus Members

New York, NY — On Thursday, June 13, the New York City Council passed four pieces of legislation related to the well-being of incarcerated individuals, introduced by members of the Progressive Caucus. Three of the bills will improve the Department of Correction’s grievance system, while the fourth bill focuses on correctional health services.

The Progressive Caucus supports the passage of these bills, which were inspired by a tour that Caucus members took of Rikers Island last year. The bills are important steps towards improving accountability within the City’s criminal justice system, which is one of the guiding principles in the Progressive Caucus’s policy platform.

The bills include:

Proposed Int 1236-A – By Council Members Powers, Rivera, Ayala, Ampry-Samuel, Salamanca, Lander, Rosenthal and Kallos – A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the department of correction to report on information regarding sick call and clinic production and share such information with correctional health services, and to repeal section 9-108 of the administrative code of the city of New York, relating to health services for incarcerated individuals.

Proposed Int 1334-A – By Council Members Ampry-Samuel, Rosenthal, Rivera, Dromm and Kallos – A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to requiring the board of correction to conduct surveys of the correctional system’s grievance process.

Proposed Int 1340-A – By Council Members Ayala, Powers, Rivera, Richards, Rosenthal, Dromm and Kallos – A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the department of correction to make the grievance process more efficient.

Proposed Int 1370-A – By Council Members Powers, Lander, the Public Advocate (Mr. Williams), Rosenthal, Rivera, Dromm, Chin and Kallos – A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to 311 complaints made by incarcerated individuals and informing incarcerated individuals of the protections against retaliation for filing a grievance.