NYC DOC Commissioner Stanley Richards
Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed Stanley Richards on Saturday to guide the NYC Division of Correction (DOC). He’s the primary formally incarcerated individual to go the division.
“I appointed Stanley Richards as Commissioner of Correction,” the mayor stated. “Decades after he served time in our city’s jails, Commissioner Richards will now be the first formerly incarcerated person to lead them.”
The appointment comes on the heels of a federal choose’s resolution to nominate former CIA officer Nicholas Deml to take the mayor’s place managing Rikers Island, the town’s troubled jail advanced.
Richards was beforehand a First Deputy Commissioner for the DOC. As a part of his new position, he’ll work with Deml to give attention to “improving safety, closing Rikers and ensuring DOC delivers on its core responsibility to care for people in custody and support the staff who serve them,” the mayor’s workplace defined.
In line with a New York Occasions article, Deml can even be given powers historically held by the commissioner.
Richards served time in jail for theft within the late Nineteen Eighties earlier than serving as government vp of the Fortune Society, a company that helps incarcerated or previously incarcerated people. He first joined the Fortune Society in 1991 as a re-entry counselor earlier than climbing up the non-profit’s ranks.
The brand new appointee was acknowledged by the Obama Administration in 2014 as a Champion for Change, a White Home program that honored people working to enhance their communities.
Richards stated in a press release he was honored and grateful to the mayor for appointing him into his new place.
“This role represents the culmination of my lifelong commitment to criminal justice reform, drawing directly from my own experience of incarceration on Rikers, which fueled my decades of work at The Fortune Society and with the Department of Correction, helping thousands rebuild their lives through reentry programs, leadership roles, and advocacy,” he stated.
Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Affiliation (COBA), which represents round 15,000 energetic and retired correction officers, stated the union is “ready, willing and able” to satisfy and work with anybody who respects and helps the rights of workers.
“The jails cannot and will not operate as safely as possible if the concerns of our members are brushed aside,” Boscio stated in a press release. “It is our hope that Mr. Richards understands that dynamic as he takes on this new role and demonstrates a commitment to putting safety and security before any political ideology.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani at a press convention on Jan. 31, 2025.Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
The Freedom Agenda’s Marketing campaign to Shut Rikers stated the brand new commissioner ought to prioritize security for all New Yorkers.
“The DOC Commissioner’s first actions should deploy every tool at his disposal to divert people from Rikers, where people continue to die, and to hasten its closure, by expediting the borough-based jails and permanently transferring empty jails on Rikers, like AMKC, out of DOC’s control,” the group stated in a press release.
Rev. Wendy Calderón-Payne, government director of Bronx Join / City Youth Alliance Coalition, a company that promotes options to jail, applauded the Richards appointment. She stated Richards has been a “remarkable champion for reform” in how “the city treats those in the correction system.”
“DOC will benefit tremendously from Commissioner Richards’ integrity, knowledge, and wisdom,” she stated. “BronxConnect and all of the Urban Youth Alliance look forward to continuing to work with Commissioner Richards as we envision a city where redemption and hope are centered in our corrections system.”
Different new appointments by Mamdani
In the meantime on Saturday, the mayor named appointments to guide 4 different metropolis companies:
New York Metropolis Division of Well being and Psychological Hygiene Commissioner – Alister Martin, MD
New York Metropolis Division of Veterans’ Providers Commissioner – Yesenia Mata
New York Metropolis Division of Youth and Neighborhood Growth Commissioner – Sandra Escamilla-Davies
New York Metropolis Workplace of Administrative Trials and Hearings Commissioner – Vilda Vera Mayuga
“New York City is built on the often unseen work of public servants who show up every day to care for our neighbors, support our young people, and make government work for the people who rely on it most. Today, we are entrusting five dedicated leaders with the responsibility to carry that work forward,” the Mayor stated. “I hope New Yorkers see the impact of their leadership in young people growing into happy and healthy adults, in justice that is administered fairly across our city, and in a government that listens, responds, and treats every person with dignity.”
Extra details about the brand new appointments is obtainable at nyc.gov.
