NY lawmakers vow legislation and hearings in response to sexual abuse allegations at Rikers

New York state lawmakers said they will renew their push to reopen a window that allows sexual abuse victims more time to file claims after a new Gothamist investigation revealed a pattern of alleged misconduct and sexual assault at Rikers Island.

The chair of the City Council’s criminal justice committee, which oversees the Department of Correction, also vowed to hold an oversight hearing on "systematic" abuse at the troubled jail complex in response to the investigation.

And New York City Mayor Eric Adams called for a “thorough investigation” into the allegations at press conference on Tuesday,

The reactions from state and city lawmakers come in response to a Gothamist report that found 719 of the 1,256 lawsuits filed in New York City’s state supreme court under the Adult Survivors Act accuse the city and the NYC Department of Correction of turning a blind eye to rampant sexual assault at Rikers. The law opened a one-year window for victims to file civil lawsuits outside the statute of limitations. That window closed in November.