TOOLKIT

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We can spread a vision for safety & care in New York City that doesn’t involve putting more of our neighbors & families in cages.

Take Action

  1. Visit the Cage Free NYC website

  2. Read the Summary of our 2021 Report on Closing Rikers Without New Jails.

  3. Email city council candidates in your district and tell them that you want to live in a Cage Free NYC.

  4. Share our informational graphics on twitter and instagram, samples below.

Sample Tweets

  1. $11B must be spent on community resources. If you are a progressive, you must be a part of a solution to closing Rikers, without new jails. #CageFreeNYC

  2. Building new jails is a choice, but it’s not the only one. For a #CageFreeNYC, the next mayor and city council must close Rikers now, and build no new jails cagefree.nyc

  3. You may have heard that closing Rikers requires building new jails. It TOTALLY DOES NOT. Read how here: https://www.cagefree.nyc/

  4. Have you been wondering what the next mayor and city council can do to close Rikers without new jails? Check out the latest report at https://www.cagefree.nyc/

  5. Spending $11B to cage New Yorkers is not “progressive”. We need to close Rikers now without building any new jails. #CageFreeNYC https://www.cagefree.nyc/

  6. Did you know that NYC has thousands of jail cells that AREN’T on Rikers? Why would we build new cages, when we already have too many? Read more at https://www.cagefree.nyc/

  7. By letting people out, stopping funding for jail construction, developing services for formerly incarcerated folks, improving jail conditions, supporting the end of pretrial detention, and more, the city could decarcerate and close Rikers without new jails. Click to tweet.

  8. It’s unfortunate that @NYCDDC thinks that it is acceptable to reward @AECOM with an $8.7B contract to build new jails in NYC but won’t advocate for better, newer, and safer NYCHA buildings. #CageFreeNYC https://www.cagefree.nyc/. Click to tweet.

  9. If we’re going to end mass incarceration, we have to start bending the curve downwards. More money for cages does just the opposite. We can close Rikers and do it without building more cages. https://www.cagefree.nyc/

  10. We need to close Rikers now. We need to invest in mental health services, public education, harm reduction, public housing — not building new cages. Read more: https://www.cagefree.nyc/. #CageFreeNYC  

Sample Posts for Instagram and Facebook

  1. Early voting for the 2021 NYC municipal primaries is underway. Whatever the results, in 2022 the city will have a new mayor, and the majority of the city council will turn over. A new report from #CageFreeNYC lays out how New York City can #CloseRikersNow Without New Jails.

  2. What should the next City Council and Mayor do to stop building new jails and close Rikers now? Read more at cagefree.nyc.

  3. There are many ways to close Rikers without building new jails -- yet the city is choosing to pour more than 11 billion over 10 years into jail expansion. Read about how we can be part of shaping a #CageFreeNYC.

  4. Building new jails is a choice, but it’s not the only one. For a #CageFreeNYC, the next mayor and city council must close Rikers now, and build no new jails: cagefree.nyc. Link in bio!

  5. By letting people out, stopping funding for jail construction, developing services for formerly incarcerated people, improving jail conditions, supporting the end of pretrial detention, and more, the city could decarcerate and close Rikers without new jails. Learn more: cagefree.nyc. Link in bio!

  6. Did you know that NYC has thousands of jail cells that AREN’T on Rikers? Why would we build new cages, when we already have too many? Read more at https://www.cagefree.nyc/

Why: Early voting for the 2021 NYC municipal primaries is underway. Whatever the results, in 2022 the city will have a new mayor, and the majority of the city council will turn over. Dozens of council candidates have committed to closing Rikers without new jails, as a campaign promise. When those candidates win and are seated, we must generate and maintain enough public support for radical decarceration to ensure that they can follow through on that promise … and call them out publicly if they back down.

What: Cage Free NYC will play a part in demanding transparency and ensuring radical decarceration. Cage Free NYC is launching a guide committed to closing Rikers without building new jails.

How: In the run up to the primary elections, we monitored candidates’ commitments to abolitionist principles, with a specific focus on who is committed to closing Rikers without building new jails. After the primary, we need your help to hold their feet to the fire. We must apply consistent, public pressure to candidates who win, so that they have no choice but to follow through with their commitments. We also must make it an electoral and political liability to oppose the cancellation of the jails plan. We will provide technical support to council leaders who take on this battle, through arming them with the communications, policy, and legislative tools necessary to drive this agenda.

When: On June 18, Cage Free NYC launches its website and social media presence; activities will continue at least through the 2022 NYC legislative session.

Who: We are a group of New Yorkers who are committed to living in communities that prioritize  care over harm, accountability above punishment, and investments that help us thrive over those that keep our neighbors in cages. Our politic is explicitly abolitionist, and we believe that none of us are free until we all are.