The wolf in sheep’s clothing, how we ALL got duped on the closure of the #Rikers plan.
By: Kathy Morse
Tags: Incarceration, Jail, Incarcerated Women, Rikers Island, Prison Reform

The wolf in sheep’s clothing, how we ALL got duped on the closure of the #Rikers plan.

The wolf in sheep’s clothing, how we ALL got duped on the closure of the #Rikers plan.

When I was incarcerated there were numerous times when I was the victim of a “dope fiend” move. For example, it was around Mother’s Day and one of the women on my housing unit came to me and asked to “borrow” 2 postage stamps. She had Mother’s Day cards she wanted to send to her mom. Wow, how could I say no, it was Mother’s Day, I am a mother, I have a mother and well damn I would want to get a Mother’s Day card too, so I gave her 2 stamps (knowing full-well I would not be paid back). That night the same girl was playing cards and “gambling” with those 2 postage stamps. As I said, this is just one of many examples of a “dope fiend move.”

Last weeks’ public hearing in New York City regarding the closure of Rikers Island in favor of 4 smaller borough based facilities turned out to be and will continue to be one huge dope fiend move. From the statements made by both Elizabeth Glazer who heads ups the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and Dana Kaplan the Deputy Director at the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (“MOCJ”) among others this farce!

Dana, stated back in April of this year on the record that the women currently housed at the Rose M. Singer Center (“Rosies) would be going to the new facility in Kew Gardens. “MOCJ Deputy Director Dana Kaplan said this decision was made after speaking with focus groups that advocate for women in the justice system.” Not sure which “focus groups” she spoke with but figures supplied by the NYC Department of Corrections based on information collected from the women housed at the Rosies when asked the borough of their residence show Queens is not in the top three of the list. Brooklyn tops the list with 25%, followed by the Bronx at 19%, Manhattan at 15% and Queens at 13%. Heck when I was at Rosies I resided in NJ but worked in Manhattan where I was arrested. So one has to ask, “why Kew Gardens?”

I have read the Lippman Commissions report and the supplemental reports, I have spoken to staff at the commission and they too know my feelings on the failure by the commission to even mention women in their first report, in their supplemental report they punted the question to MOCJ and well we know how that went, Kew Gardens. Nothing personal against Kew Gardens, but there are viable locations in Manhattan that could solely be dedicated to facilities for women, take Lincoln CF which Governor Cuomo has announced earlier this year will be closing, or Bayview CF which was leased to the Novo Foundation and thus far in the last several years not much has been done with the building — both would make perfect locations for a facility dedicated solely to replacing Rosies.

At the September 5th hearing, “Councilman Rafael Salamanca cornered Dana Kaplan, deputy director of Close Rikers and Justice Initiatives (MOCJ), into sharing that the decision as to where the jails would be located preceded any form of public outreach and the decision was settled upon by “the powers that be” without community input.

So twice now on the record in less than 6 months, Dana has contradicted herself on the jail in Kew Gardens for women and the input from “focus groups that advocate for women in the justice system.” Bottom line as Dana said on September 5th, “the decision was settled upon by ‘the powers that be’ WITHOUT COMMUNITY INPUT. Gosh, Mayor De Blasio, Elizabeth Glazer AND Dana Kaplan, what a “dope fiend” move. No doubt about it, we have been had, we have been conned! This is not politics, this is people’s lives.

Please explain to me, how can we adequately provide the proper services for both men and women detainees in the same facility, how can we provide equal access to medical and mental health services, how can we provide equal access to programming, recreation space and visiting all under one roof for both sexes, it simply cannot be done. What is worse is that the women will once again be short-changed on services which are so critical to them. Access to trauma programming, domestic abuse programming, reentry services, medical and mental health services, educational programming when the men will certainly out-number women. It simply cannot and will not be done. Based on her past statements Dana Kaplan unfortunately cannot be trusted nor taken at her word.

While the men will ALL be housed in a community-based facility (close to family, lawyers and the court) the majority of the women housed in Kew Gardens will be far removed from not only their families, but their lawyers and the Courts totally defeating the purpose of “community-based” facilities. It should be noted that over 60% of women detained currently at Rosies are the primary caretakers of their children under the age of 16, how will a facility in Kew Gardens bring these mom’s closer to their children when over 50% of those to be housed in Kew Gardens do not even reside in that borough? Who will make sure these children are taken to visit their mothers? Certainly not Dana Kaplan, MOCJ or even Mayor De Blaiso.

When I was last at Rosies in 2011 I promised the women that I would make sure their voices would be heard, that I would let the community know exactly what was happening at Rosies and to that end I have and will continue to do so. I am vocal and speak out as much as I can, I write about my own experiences which I do share on social media and Medium and I encourage you if you have not already done so to check out my posts. I am brutally honest, blunt about what I have to say and hold no punches. I share some extremely traumatic and brutal experiences from my detention at Rosies. I am not beholden to anyone since I receive NO funding from anyone. I do not live in New York, I reside in New Jersey and work in a warehouse where I get paid $16 an hour which many times makes it impossible for me to attend these meetings, rallys or hearings in person but that does not mean I do not stay informed, I am a news junkie and every night I read and absorb everything I can and I tweet like crazy. I know how many of these advocates who claim to fighting for women on Rosies are being duplicitous — you cannot bite the hand that feeds you. In simple terms, you are receiving funding from either the Mayor, the First Lady of New York, MOCJ or in some cases the Manhattan District Attorney and you are certainly not going to come out in public and call them out on their BS for fear the source of your funding being cut off.

I am a lone-wolf — beholden to no one. I support my efforts with the money I make at my warehouse job. I have interviewed for numerous positions in #cjreform work heck I even interviewed for a job with MOCJ and now I know why I was not hired by them and many others, I am too honest, too blunt. During my interview at MOCJ I asked Dana point blank, “what about the women” she told me they had not focused on the women. Dana, I believe that statement is still true today (almost 2 year later) you never have nor will you ever truly focus on the women. It’s truly a shame because what happens at Rikers could become a national model for other cities and county jails across the country.

So in the meantime I will continue to be my one-woman army, never forgetting the women I left behind nor my commitment to them to make sure that the community is made aware of what is going on in jails and prisons and to do everything in my power to change that until I draw my last breath. Please note that this is part one in a series of pieces on the subject.

Please feel free to follow me on twitter @KathyMorse0914 and also @CloseRosies