One of the most controversial and notorious jails in America, Rikers Island, has stood on a 416-acre strip of land in the east river since its founding in 1932. Its long-standing history has made the structure a figure in the ongoing debate surrounding prison reform and restorative justice. When former mayor Bill de Blasio approved the closure of Rikers in 2017 Architectural Digest writer, Eva Fedderly, was among those who believed it was a step towards a more humane future.
But after digging deeper and speaking to communities directly affected by the situation, she discovered that the consensus was hardly universal. She writes about this in the new book “These Walls: The Battle for Rikers Island and the Future of America's Jails."
Eva Fedderly is an investigative reporter and has been published in Architectural Digest as well as New York Magazine. We welcome Eva Fedderly to the RT this morning.
