NYC Council preps for possible suit against Adams administration over solitary ban

The New York City Council voted this week to give Speaker Adrienne Adams authority to bring legal action against the mayor’s administration to ensure that a ban on solitary confinement in city jails goes into effect later this month.

Councilmembers voted on a resolution Thursday allowing the speaker to potentially sue to protect the ban if its implementation gets blocked or delayed. The resolution represents another step in an ongoing conflict between Mayor Eric Adams and the Council — wherein members have accused him of not enforcing certain laws he objects to.

The ban, which passed the Council with broad support late last year, was vetoed by the mayor in January , before councilmembers overrode it, along with another mayoral veto of a police stops reporting bill. The solitary ban is poised to go into effect on July 28.

“It's unfortunate that we're convening today to defend our institutional prerogative, but after overriding the mayor’s veto to enact this legislation," said Councilmember Sandy Nurse, chair of the criminal justice committee, during a committee vote this week. "It’s now clear that the administration will seek to suspend most of the requirements of Law 42 in court."

The city's law department told a federal judge presiding over a separate prisoners’ rights case that it intended to ask a court to suspend the requirements of the solitary ban, known as Local Law 42 , in a letter in June.

“The majority of the requirements of Local Law 42 conflict with aspects of the Orders issued by the Court in the above-referenced case,” city lawyers wrote.

Lawmakers have accused Adams himself of getting in the way of the law’s implementation — and said they’ll do what they must to defend it.

“The Council stands today by its decision to pass Local Law 42 to advance a new approach to reduce violence and prioritize safety,” Nurse told her committee on Thursday, before a full vote of the City Council. “For those who endured those horrific conditions, we will continue to fight to change the status quo.”

According to research cited by the Council, people forced into solitary confinement are significantly more likely to die or harm themselves during and after their stays in jail, than those who are not.

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office referred comment to the Department of Correction, which said it was speaking with the Law Department and federal monitor for Rikers Island jails over the law’s implementation.

Mayor Adams criticized the ban during a press conference announcing his veto, saying the legislation jeopardized safety in city jails and that solitary confinement was a “buzzword” for a practice that was not taking place. His campaign in opposition to the solitary legislation — along with another bill on police stops — were further signs of the mayor’s eroding relationship with the Council.

Last year, lawmakers overrode the mayor’s veto on housing legislation meant to provide more rental assistance to low-income New Yorkers. The Council also sought legal authority then to sue the mayor over a lack of implementation. That case, which includes the Legal Aid Society, is expected to get a hearing next week, according to CBS News.

The mayor and Council have since voiced differing views on numerous budget priorities and are in disagreement over an issue that could reshape city governance itself: legislation that would enable the Council to give advice and consent on more than 20 additional mayoral appointments, including commissioners for agencies like the city’s health and parks departments.

The Council on Thursday submitted its proposed ballot question to the Board of Elections for its advice-and-consent measure. If it proceeds as members hope, city residents would vote on the question as a referendum on the November ballot.

But the mayor’s charter revision commission, announced shortly after the Council’s bill, could introduce its own ballot proposal by Aug. 5, which would take precedence over the Council’s.