Advocates rallied yesterday in Manhattan, calling on Governor Hochul and Mayor de Blasio to immediately end the transfer of women and TGNCBI people from Rikers Island to correctional facilities in upstate New York, as reported by News 12 Bronx.

The action was organized by The NYC Task Force on TGNCNBI People In Custody, who warned that State prisons are not able to meet the needs of people with pending pre-trial cases and are extremely dangerous places for the most vulnerable populations, such as TGNCNBI people, immigrants, and people living with health conditions and mental illness.

Mik Kinkead, a member of the Task Force and part of The Legal Aid Society’s Rikers Island Civil Re-Entry Project, spoke at the event, reiterating that these transfers are not the solution to the crisis on Rikers Island. He asked that women and TGNCNBI people housed at Rikers Island not be used as pawns in the political calculus of City and State officials, and called for their safety to be prioritized.