LISTEN: reports that a unit housing trans women at Rikers has 'collapsed' under a new corrections commissioner.
AND reports that New Jersey has rolled back protections for trans people in its state prisons. Tune in.
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The Bronx Defenders
@BronxDefenders
Nonprofit transforming how low-income people are represented in the justice system and transforming the system itself
Non-Governmental & Nonprofit Organization 360 East 161st St, Bronx NYbronxdefenders.orgJoined March 2010
The Bronx Defenders’s Tweets
The safest communities are healthiest communities, not the most policed communities.
Join the mighty and magical Treatment Not Jail coalition this Tuesday, Jan. 31st, in Albany to fight for passage of the Treatment Not Jail Act! RSVP: bit.ly/TNJAdvocacyDay
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TUESDAY: Join us in Albany on Jan. 31 to demand legislation ensuring that all New Yorkers with substance use, mental health, cognitive and other challenges have the treatment they need to safe and healthy lives. RSVP here: bit.ly/3HzSqIt. We need #TreatmentNotJail!
"For each individual who comes before the ourt, that is a life. That is a whole story, a whole experience. Why would we not want the court to consider the individual facts?"
#CommunitiesNotCages thanks for your leadership to end racist and unjust sentencing.
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We rallied with this week to demand an end to sentencing laws that do nothing but warehouse and criminalize our communities.
As , policy director at BxD said, “now is the time to make real change.”
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A Task Force that we joined last year made recommendations on what will save lives. The must act. nyc.gov/site/boc/jail-
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But when the NYC DOC leaves a hearing where current and formerly incarcerated people testify for their lives, it's clear how little they really care.
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Words mean nothing when a gender expansive person is sent to the wrong facility inconsistent with their gender identity. This was clearly demonstrated by the many testimonies given yesterday on behalf of currently incarcerated people.
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As Deborah Lolai, Director of our LGBTQ+ Project asked during testimony, where was Elizabeth Munsky, head of DOC's LGBTQ Affairs Unit? She could've answered most of the questions being asked, and her absence spoke volumes.
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That call to action took on added urgency given the stunning ignorance that Molina demonstrated while Council Members questioned why NYC shelved a directive that would have helped gender expansive people remain safe while incarcerated.
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"Save our lives, we are dying."
These words were spoken by - activist, visionary, and non-binary trans femme - at the hearing yesterday on the failure of NYC to protect the safety and lives of transgender and gender expansive people in city jails.
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. is reading testimony of a transgender man who is constantly mis-gendered as a "she" on Rikers --many times daily. "this is disrespectiful, ostrasizing: why is there a unit for transgender women and not transgender men? We deserve to feel safe here too."
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Dany Greene is so great discussing how court officers often refuse to include a non-binary gender marker of "X" on the blue-cards sent along with people from courts to Rikers and cause harm and violence. There isn't a current process to change the paperwork.
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Now members of the Task Force on Issues Faced by TGNCNBI People in Custody who wrote the August 15, 2022 are on the panel testifying. First up is who wants to know why 's Elizabeth Munskey is not at hearing as she is tasked with overseeing the SCU!
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Given the data and history, it is unsurprising that ACS staff describe their own work as racist and harmful to the very families they purport to protect.
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A Black man who grew up in public housing and went to jail over marijuana opened New York's second licensed dispensary on Tuesday, a crucial triumph in an ambitious state experiment that has had significant challenges:
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RIGHT NOW: Hundreds of us are gathered in Albany to demand passage of the Eliminate Mandatory Minimums, Second Look Act and Earned Time Act.
We need #CommunitiesNotCages.
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Tomorrow, the is holding a hearing on the dangerous mistreatment of TGNCNBI people in custody, supported by the Task Force. We're going to be there. We urge you to contact your NYC Council Member to take action as well.
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Make no mistake: Rikers Island should not exist. And this is a case in point. But the City's denial of its failure to protect TGNCNBI people in its custody, even after a Task Force report we joined detailed numerous failures, and now whistleblowers shed further light, is damning.
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“I kept telling them, ‘I feel more safer at Rosie’s,’ but they keep putting me through hell, putting me on these tiers where these men are mistreating me, abusing me, sexually assaulting me,' she remembers thinking as she drove in the blade."
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Now whistleblowers from the LGBTQ+ Affairs Unit are speaking out. And so are incarcerated people like Tamera Harrison, who was denied transfers multiple times because DOC officials insisted they knew better who she was than she did.
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READ: Mayor Adams and Commissioner Molina are failing transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and intersex (TGNCNBI) people on a massive scale, according to several whistleblowers and our own work on Rikers Island and the TGNCNBI Task Force
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Calling all social workers (and students) — join us, , and on Monday, 2/20 to learn how to confront pregnancy criminalization in your capacity as a professional social worker. Register through : naswnys.org/civicrm/event/
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2023 is the year for true long-term solutions to community safety! That means addressing the connected harms of the criminal legal + immigration systems. We join 120+ advocacy groups and legislators in fighting for bold action through #JusticeRoadMapNY
📢 justiceroadmapny.org
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“Mr. Conner is opening Smacked LLC with his son and wife. In applying for his license, Mr. Conner received support from the Bronx Cannabis Hub, which was founded by the Bronx Defenders and the Bronx Community Foundation.” 🎉🎉🎉
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The 1st AU dispensary owned by a justice-involved New Yorker will open on Tuesday, Jan. 24!
From job development to community investments, our state is creating historic opportunities for those most impacted by the over policing of cannabis prohibition.
governor.ny.gov/news/governor-
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"The Bronx Defenders is proud to be part of such an historic milestone for New York State. We launched the Hub with one goal in mind: to ensure that New York delivered on its promise that those most harmed by past cannabis criminalization would benefit most from its legalization”
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The 1st AU dispensary owned by a justice-involved New Yorker will open on Tuesday, Jan. 24!
From job development to community investments, our state is creating historic opportunities for those most impacted by the over policing of cannabis prohibition.
governor.ny.gov/news/governor-
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Do you want to join the first 2023 mass mobilization for #CommunitiesNotCages? Travel with us to Albany as we fight to overhaul New York’s racist and unjust sentencing laws and bring our loved ones home. RSVP here to reserve your seat on the bus: bit.ly/CNCJan24
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NEW: 's administration is blocking an oversight agency that watchdogs Rikers Island from independently accessing video footage that has long been used to monitor conditions and investigate deaths at the jails: gothamist.com/news/nyc-corre 1/3
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Rosa Cohen-Cruz from on how we make sure this doesn’t happen to one more person:
“We call on our legislators to take immediate action. Why is NY still in the business of profiting off of immigrants? We must pass Dignity Not Detention and New York 4 All NOW.”
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STARTING NOW: we’re excited to host our fourth annual Community Policy summit, where we share our policy agenda for the year and invite our community partners and neighbors to weigh in. 2023 is when we will boldly reimagine justice for the people and communities we work with
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TODAY: Calling on everyone in the Bronx to join us in our offices at E 161st Street so we can unite around an agenda that will make a real difference to our communities.
Food, refreshments, and translation services will be provided.
Reserve your spot:
RIGHT NOW: Hundreds of New Yorkers are marching in the Capitol to demand #CleanSlateNY.
2.3 million of us. We deserve access to jobs, housing, and education. It's time to end perpetual punishment.
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📢TOMORROW: Join us for our annual community policy summit. We want to hear from you on how we can advance an agenda that will make a difference to our communities. Food, refreshments, and translation services will be provided.
Reserve your spot here:
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TAKE ACTION: We're in Albany today to demand lawmakers pass #CleanSlateNY and stand with 2.3 million NYers haunted by their old conviction records. Join us by using this tool to tell your representatives that NOW is the time to end perpetual punishment: cleanslateny.org/take-action
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TOMORROW! We’re taking the fight to end perpetual punishment across the finish line. Join us for our first #CleanSlateNY advocacy day of the year. Food and Transportation provided from across the state. RSVP here: bit.ly/CSJan17
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Today, called for addressing “the persistent social + economic barriers to reentry” in her State of the State. "To strengthen our communities + support our economy, we call on the Governor and legislature to pass #CleanSlateNY immediately."
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Happy New Year! Let’s get to work.
On Jan 18, join your neighbors, fellow advocates, and our staff to unite around a common vision and policy agenda for the Bronx.
Food, refreshments, and translation services available. Reserve your spot here!
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Please join TNJ in Queens this Thursday evening for a Town Hall presentation and conversation on the Treatment Not Jail Act. Food and drinks will be provided!
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