Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed Stanley Richards as the new commissioner of the city’s Department of Correction on Saturday. Richards will become the first formerly incarcerated person to lead the city’s jails.
Richards is currently the president and chief executive officer of the Fortune Society, a leading nonprofit group that assists incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people in the city. Prior to that, Richards served as the first deputy commissioner of programs and operations at the Department of Correction in 2021 during the height of a staffing crisis on Rikers Island.
What You Need To Know
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed Stanley Richards as the new commissioner of the city’s Department of Correction on Saturday
- Richards will become the first formerly incarcerated person to lead the city’s jails
- He currently serves as the president and chief executive officer of the Fortune Society, a leading nonprofit group that assists incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people in the city
- Richards served time in prison for robbery in the late 1980s, and soon after, he joined the Fortune Society as a reentry counselor and remained at the organization for much of his career
Richards served time in prison for robbery in the late 1980s. Soon after he joined the Fortune Society as a reentry counselor and remained at the organization for much of his career.
“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,” said Richards in a prepared statement provided to NY1 ahead of Saturday’s announcement. “This appointment is an opportunity to lead from the top, advocating for both incarcerated individuals and correction officers to create safer jails and real pathways to rehabilitation.”
Richards will take the helm of the department during an unprecedented and crucial time. Earlier this week, a federal judge named the first ever remediation manager for Rikers, a former correction commissioner from Vermont, Nicholas Deml, who is expected to have wide power and authority over what happens in city jails. Deml is responsible for getting Rikers back on track and reducing violence as the result of a years-long lawsuit which found city jails riddled with dysfunction. Deml answers only to the federal judge in the case.
That judge, Laura Taylor Swain, is urging Deml and the commissioner to work collaboratively to accomplish this. It is unclear how much of the city jails Deml will oversee versus the new commissioner.
During a press conference in the Bronx on Saturday, Richards and the mayor said they expected the two to work together to improve Rikers “in partnership.” The remediation manager has been in touch with the mayor’s team, but not him personally.
Another hurdle for Richards: the city’s correction officers’ union.
When Richards served as a top deputy in the department five years ago, leadership often clashed with the city’s correction officers’ union. It is unclear how that relationship has been repaired – or if it will continue to dog leadership at the department once Richards assumes his role.
In a statement, the president of the union, Benny Boscio, said: “The jails cannot and will not operate as safely as possible if the concerns of our members are brushed aside. 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.”
During his remarks, Richards made a promise to staff on the ground.
“To the officers, nonuniformed staff and union leadership, I will work tirelessly to make sure the department centers our work on transparency, safety and accountability,” he said.
Richards will start the job on February 16.
