A Renewable Future for Formerly Incarcerated New Yorkers
picture: usgeological survey
There are 42 islands spread across the five boroughs of New York City. New York’s most notorious island, which sits near an uninhabited wildlife sanctuary and an abandoned smallpox hospital, may become its most important source of renewable energy.
Rikers Island is often referred to as the largest penal colony in the world purchased Created in 1884 by a slave-owning family from the city as part of the charter establishing the Department of Corrections. There are 10 prisons on the island, which can hold 14,700 people. About 90 percent of those currently incarcerated are black or Latino, and 90 percent are still awaiting trial, often unable to pay bail.
Many suffered severe physical and psychological abuse while awaiting trial for months or even years. The number of incidents of correctional officers using force against incarcerated individuals more than doubled between 2016 and 2019, leading the Department of Justice to Announce A “pervasive and deeply entrenched culture of violence”. Since the beginning of 2022, 18 people have died on Rikers Island, many by suicide.
New York has an unprecedented opportunity to transform Rikers Island’s legacy from one of brutality to one of restoration. Thanks to the steadfastness of the grassroots movement, the prison complex on Rikers Island is scheduled to close in August 2027. So, what will this empty island look like?
Some argue that these facilities should be converted into public housing units.However, these facilities were built on top of a landfill leak methane gas, making the island uninhabitable—even though tens of thousands of incarcerated people have been held there for nearly 100 years. Others think Rikers Island could be transformed into a solar farm — a renewable energy hub that provides clean energy to New York City.
Prison complex on Rikers Island. photo: Sfolkite
Turning Rikers Island into a solar power facility will benefit low-income communities across the city by replacing gas-fired peaking power plants. The plants are designed to provide the city with extra power during times of high energy demand, but they generate twice as much carbon as standard plants and emit sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide.
Toxic air pollution from peaker plants in the South Bronx contributes to high rates of asthma and other respiratory diseases in the country poorest congressional districtA similar plant is being built in Long Island City, east of Rikers Island, just a few blocks from the largest public housing complex in the country.
By converting Rikers Island to a solar array, just 100 of the island’s 413 acres could produce enough clean energy to phase out all of New York City’s peaking plants. This will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while restoring clean air to nearby low-income communities.
In February 2021, the New York City Council voted to Renewable Rikers Act, legislation that would transfer jurisdiction on the island from the Department of Corrections to the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. The city council has also passed a series of bills to begin research into the feasibility of renewable energy, battery storage, composting and wastewater treatment on the island.
This is an important step towards a healthier future, but certain factors must be considered to ensure Rikers Island’s transition to solar is just and equitable.
First, the city should train and hire formerly incarcerated people as solar mechanics and technicians. People with criminal records can struggle to find work, and municipal programs could create thousands of jobs and build the skills needed for the island’s energy future. The city is already pursuing a similar marijuana sales model, reserving retail licenses for people with drug criminal records as a form of financial compensation.
New York City’s political leadership needs to follow in the footsteps of groups like Grid Alternatives, a California-based solar nonprofit that supply Training for formerly incarcerated individuals joining the renewable energy workforce. Such opportunities can reduce recidivism while removing the stigma that acts as a barrier to existing employment.
Second, the city will need to remediate the island’s toxic landfill, which will support the development of a large-scale composting facility and wastewater treatment system. The new wastewater treatment facility will replace four aging facilities, ensuring New York’s low-income waterfront communities are equipped with climate-resilient utilities and state-of-the-art facilities.
Third, the city should continue to reduce the jail and jail population and address the root causes of crime by reducing homelessness, poverty, and unemployment through substantial investments in education, housing, and health care.currently it cost The city spent $556,539 to detain a person on Rikers Island for a year. By reallocating funds from the Department of Corrections’ $860 million budget and pulling funding from the NYPD’s $11 billion budget for growing its prison population, New York City can make irresistible changes to renewable infrastructure and restorative social services lack of investment.
As the country with the highest per capita incarceration rate and approximately 2 million prison populations, the United States can follow New York City’s lead and make strides in reducing incarceration while investing in our renewable energy future.US incarceration rate drop With a 14% reduction between 2019 and 2020, New York’s prison population has decreased by 47% since 2015, but there is still much work to be done.
If lawmakers are serious about the planet’s most existential crisis, they must ensure justice and dignity for all, affirming that no one is ever left behind. This begins with transforming Rikers Island from a destructive penal colony to a microcosm of a restorative future.
Joshua Nordiff is a climate justice writer and graduate student Climate and Society Program in the Columbia Climate School.
