{"id":17586,"date":"2021-02-13T13:09:14","date_gmt":"2021-02-13T21:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=17586"},"modified":"2021-02-13T13:09:16","modified_gmt":"2021-02-13T21:09:16","slug":"new-yorks-notorious-rikers-island-jail-could-become-a-renewable-energy-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2021\/02\/13\/new-yorks-notorious-rikers-island-jail-could-become-a-renewable-energy-hub\/","title":{"rendered":"NEW YORK\u2019S NOTORIOUS RIKERS ISLAND JAIL COULD BECOME A RENEWABLE ENERGY HUB"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Issued on: 12\/02\/2021 \u2013 France24.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An
An aerial view of Rikers Island. The sprawling jail complex, set to close by 2027, is the second-largest in the United States and one of the largest in the world \u00a9 US Geological Survey via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Text by:Colin KINNIBURGH5 min<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s long been one of the United States\u2019 most infamous jails. Now Rikers Island looks set to become a renewable energy hub, a plan for which New York City environmental justice organizers have campaigned since the closure of the jail complex was announced in 2019.ADVERTISING<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many Americans, the name Rikers Island evokes a modern-day Alcatraz<\/a>. The island jail complex, which sits a bridge away from the New York City borough of Queens, has over the last decade become synonymous with the abuses of mass incarceration, including violence by guards<\/a> and between inmates<\/a> as well as routine use of solitary confinement<\/a>. Nearly 90% of those held in the jail<\/a> are Black and Latino, according to city statistics, and three-quarters have yet to be charged with a crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now the island is set to be radically transformed, under a plan that the advocacy group Freedom Agenda<\/a> says will \u201clay the groundwork to begin restoring the harms of mass incarceration and environmental racism\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, the New York City Council passed the Renewable Rikers Act, a pair of bills which will begin the process of turning the island into a renewable energy hub once the jail closes for good in 2026.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councilmember Costa Constantinides, who sponsored the bills, cheered the outcome of the vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 413 acres of Rikers Island have, for far too long, embodied an unjust and racist criminal justice system,\u201d Constantinides said<\/a> in a statement. \u201cThese bills will offer the city a pathway to building a hub for sustainability and resiliency that can serve as a model to cities around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n