NYC jails boss bails on oversight hearing amid Rikers cell controversy

The head of the city’s jails and his entire staff bailed on the monthly Board of Correction meeting Tuesday at the last minute — leaving members of the oversight agency irate over unanswered questions about violence in local lock-ups and one controversial solution.

The no-show was the second missed board meeting in a row by Department of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina and comes a week after the jails chief asked the board to rubber stamp his decision to extend the cell confinement of inmates to 17 hours a day at one of Rikers’ jailhouses.

Molina had argued last week it was “not unreasonable” to limit the out-of-cell periods to seven hours daily in the George R. Vierno Center, which houses “individuals most prone to violence” and accounts for nearly half of the slashing and stabbings on Rikers since May, according to the variance request.

The board was scheduled to consider officially making the change Tuesday morning — with the commissioner on hand to make his case. That was until the DOC pulled the proposal late last week and Molina informed the board of his plan to not attend the hearing late Monday.

Acting Board Chairman Julio Medina slammed Molina’s absence as “unprecedented,” while other members questioned his use of the mayor’s executive orders to allegedly circumvent the oversight agency.

“Although those requests have been withdrawn, the DOC still had the authority under the mayoral [executive order] to override that minimum standard … so the department says it will be locking people in for 17 hours a day at GRVC,” Medina said.

Board member Robert Cohen urged the board to reconvene next week with the commissioner on hand.

“I think it’s very, very important that we have the opportunity very quickly to speak with the commissioner in a public setting,” Cohen said. “This is not something that’s going to wait a month or two. There are going to be serious consequences of the lock-in policy.”

Molina informed the board just before 6:30 p.m. Monday in a letter that he and his serious staff could not attend Tuesday’s hearing because “[t]he federal Monitor is here for a visit that extends into tomorrow,” according to the email obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

The jails head offered to appear at an apparent closed-door meeting with the board Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon in his conference room to discuss their issues, reads the letter.

In a statement, DOC Deputy Commissioner for Public Information James Boyd blamed the monitor visit for the missed hearing and confirmed that the department offered a sit-down after the public meeting.

“We will continue to keep the board apprised of departmental updates, and we remain committed to improving our jails with transparency and accountability,” Boyd said.

The press office did not respond to questions about when the monitor’s visit was scheduled or when the DOC would provide an update on city jails in a public forum.

Calls to the federal monitor were not returned.