Sexual abuse investigations at Rikers languish under Adams

Plus: A guide to Sunset Park's best Mexican food [View this email in a browser.]( Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? [Consider donating and join today.]( [Sexual abuse investigations at Rikers languish under Adams]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ⛅ Partly cloudy, highs in the upper 70s. It's Friday in New York City, where the system for investigating rape and sexual abuse claims by Rikers Island detainees is failing under Mayor Eric Adams, according to a Gothamist review of city data. Last year, more than 45% of the correction department’s investigations into sexual abuse and sexual harassment allegations dragged on past the 90-day time window in which they're supposed to conclude. And criminal justice experts say there's evidence that when the department does carry out an investigation, it isn't sufficiently thorough. Since 2015, nearly 1,500 sexual abuse allegations were reported by people in custody against correction staff — but just seven of those cases were substantiated. [Here's the full picture of how abuse at Rikers is and isn't being investigated]( based on Gothamist's data analysis. And here's what else is happening: - A 16-year-old boy was arrested Thursday for the [fatal shooting of a woman in her apartment building]( on the Lower East Side — marking the second time this week a teen has been arrested in connection with deadly gun violence. - Police said [a 17-year-old boy was shot in the leg]( just blocks away from Curtis High School on Staten Island yesterday afternoon. - New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services withdrew a contract from an IT support company with ties to Terence Banks — [whose phone was seized]( by the FBI as part of a federal investigation targeting Mayor Adams' inner circle — after city Comptroller Brad Lander [raised numerous red flags about the potentially favorable deal](. - The city’s health department [conducted fewer]( restaurant and rodent inspections due to staffing shortages last fiscal year, according to the annual Mayor’s Management Report. - A vote on unionization at a Lower East Side Trader Joe’s earlier this year was [undermined by managers who discouraged workers from joining]( according to a new complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board. - OceanFirst Bank has agreed to pay more than $15 million to settle federal claims it engaged in a pattern of [racially discriminatory credit practices]( in New Jersey. - Decades ago, European magazines started recommending Williamsburg and Bushwick as tourist destinations. Where are those people going now? Are tourists showing up unexpectedly in your neighborhood? [Tell us]( - [These are the 20 worst days of the year]( to drive in New York City, according to the state's transportation department. - "I had to be kind of sneaky about it": Dr. Jay Varma, City Hall's COVID czar during the first year of the pandemic, was caught on camera talking about [a sex party he hosted]( in August 2020. - A new Siena College poll found that Donald Trump has a [slightly higher favorability rating]( than Gov. Kathy Hochul among New York voters. - Some members of Columbia University's Jewish community are mad at interim president Katrina Armstrong for apologizing on behalf of the school for [calling in the NYPD to shut down pro-Palestinian student protests](. - NYMag political reporter Olivia Nuzzi was [placed on leave]( for developing some sort of inappropriate-but-"never physical" relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - A Chinese zoo [painted dogs]( to look like pandas. - The mini totes [are back](. - They made an [official "Queens Edition"]( of Monopoly. [“It has devolved into a series of checking boxes rather than actually fixing the issue.”]( - Sarena Townsend, a former deputy correction commissioner, on [THE DEPARTMENT'S FAILURES TO PROPERLY INVESTIGATE SEXUAL ABUSE CLAIMS]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [For great Mexican food, head to Sunset Park. Here are some of the best places.]( Breakfast quesadillas. Shrimp aguachile. Elote. Fresh tortillas. Here's where to get it all. [NYC's trash containerization plan may lead to fines for community street cleaners]( Every day, workers for nonprofits — some of whom are homeless — collect refuse and leave it in bags near public trash cans for collection. Under the city's new rules, which are set to be enforced next summer, leaving bags out like that would result in a $50 fine. [We Rely On Your Support]( [24 low-budget ways to fall in love with NYC this autumn]( A lot of fun stuff to do for not a lot of money. [These Brooklyn coffee shops are asking customers to stop tipping]( Most of the coffee shop owners who opt for the no-tip system say they do it to provide fair and consistent pay, which they say should be the burden of the employer rather than the customer or barista. [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.