News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 31, 2025

NYC DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION CELEBRATES 130 YEARS OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONAL INNOVATION

City Hall Will Light Up with Blue and Orange to Honor 130 Years of DOC History.

EAST ELMHURST, NY — New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Correction (DOC) Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie will mark the agency’s 130^th year by lighting City Hall tonight in the agency’s colors of blue and orange.

“For 130 years, the New York City Department of Correction has performed one of the hardest jobs in law enforcement and protected New Yorkers during many critical public safety moments in the city’s long history,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Beyond the safety, security, and care of people in custody, the DOC worked on everything from the 9/11 response to large public mobilizations and, more importantly, the agency and its staff have changed lives. My thanks to all the Bold men and women who have served this agency and our city over the last 130 years.”

“Today's Department of Correction stands on the shoulders of 130 years of history, excellence and camaraderie,” said NYC Correction Department Commissioner Maginley-Liddie. “Throughout 2025, we will be looking back and celebrating our agency's individual and collective achievements as we continue to lay the groundwork for another 130 years of boldly serving the people of New York City.”

The Department of Correction dates back to June 1895 when legislation split the Department of Public Charities and Correction into two separate agencies, giving DOC exclusive jurisdiction over penal institutions.

DOC originally operated on what is now Roosevelt Island — which first went by the name Blackwell’s and then Welfare Island — but in the mid-1930s, the agency closed its aging facilities and transferred people in custody to a newly constructed jail on Rikers. In 1935, the New York Times wrote that the first people in custody were being transferred “from the almost medieval cell blocks of the old prison on Welfare Island to the ultra-modern penitentiary on Riker’s [sic] Island.”

The article remarked on the modern cells, hospital, industrial buildings and auditorium, which could be used for entertainment or prayer services.

The City had purchased Rikers Island, which was then 87.5 acres, in 1884 for $180,000. In the late 19^th and 20^th centuries, Rikers was expanded to its current 415 acres.

Rikers Island currently holds seven active jails, and the agency now operates units devoted to transportation, fire safety, intelligence operations, laundry, communications, printing, power, food service, and more.

Since its inception, the department has implemented bold correctional practices. Some notable moments in DOC history include:

1914: Katharine Bement Davis was appointed the first woman Commissioner of DOC and was the first woman to head a major municipal agency.
1919: Mary Lilly — who was reportedly the first woman admitted to practice law in New York and one of the first women to serve in the New York State Assembly — was appointed as the superintendent of women in custody at the Workhouse on Blackwell's Island.
1927 / 1928: The first training school for jail staff in the nation opened in New York City, which is considered a forerunner of the modern Correction Academy.
1930’s: House of Detention for Men opened on Rikers Island and is later renamed the James A. Thomas Center.
1954: Anna M. Kross was appointed the second woman Commissioner of DOC. The largest facility on Rikers Island was renamed in her honor in 1978.
1966: The bridge connecting Rikers Island to Queens was opened. Prior to its construction, the only access to Rikers Island was via ferry.
1969: Unable to use the Hofstra University field or Shea Stadium, the champion New York Jets moved their practices to Rikers Island. Around 500 to 600 people in custody observed the daily practices on a rotating basis.
1971: The Correctional Institute for Women opened on Rikers. In 1988, a new facility complete with a 25-bed baby nursery, was built to house women in custody. The new facility was named in honor of Rose M. Singer, an original member of the Board of Correction.
1972: Benjamin J. Malcolm was appointed as the department’s first African American Commissioner and a historic visit to the adolescent jail was made by Mrs. Coretta Scott King and entertainer/activist Harry Belafonte.
1984: Jacqueline McMickens was appointed Commissioner making her the first African American woman to lead the agency and the first female correction officer in the United States to be appointed to lead a major correctional agency.
1987: The nation’s first, and largest, jail-based methadone dispensary was introduced on Rikers Island.
1996: An innovative horticulture program launched on Rikers Island.
2001: The department mobilized uniformed and non-uniformed staff to assist with the rescue, response and recovery efforts on September 11.
2013: DOC created its first CAPS unit for people in custody with serious mental illness who face disciplinary infractions. Two years later, the Department introduced PACE (Program to Accelerate Clinical Effectiveness), which encourages adherence to treatment, including medication, for people in custody who struggle to function while incarcerated due to chronic mental illness, risk of acute psychiatric decompensation, and/or behavioral disruption. Both are recognized national models for therapeutic treatment of seriously mentally ill people in custody.
2015: The Department opened its first Transgender Housing Unit, which is later moved to the Rose M. Singer Center. It became a national model for housing Transgender and Intersex people in custody.
2015: The first K-9 officers were certified in controlled substance training.
2015: The Department began installing cameras throughout city jails and was one of the fist correctional agencies in the nation to implement body-worn cameras. Within three years, the agency had reached widespread camera coverage over facilities. In 2018, the DOC opened an integrated command post that centralized its video monitoring, which boosted coordination of facility-based incident responses.
2016: DOC and the Bronx District Attorney opened the Bronx District Attorney’s Prosecution Bureau on Rikers Island, ensuring faster prosecution of crimes in facilities to make the jails safer for staff, people-in-custody and visitors.
2016: John Jay College of Criminal Justice announced its participation in the DOC Cadet Education, Empowerment and Development for Success program (CEEDS), which provides students interested in law enforcement and correctional studies with a targeted, exclusive career path to becoming a city Correction Officer while earning a college degree.
2018: The Department unveiled its Veterans Housing Unit on Rikers Island, which works exclusively with those in custody who have served in the military.
2018: The first DOC free visitors bus to Rikers Island was made available to New Yorkers, helping to facilitate visits for family and friends of people in custody.
2018: The first visits began through DOC’s partnership with the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM). The program brings parents, children, and their custodial caregivers to the museum when it is closed to the public to support bonding and ease the trauma of separation. Following a pause for the COVID-19 emergency, the program restarted and expanded off-Island programming in 2022 and renovated visitation spaces inside facilities in 2024.
2019: DOC cut the ribbon on a new, two-story, staff wellness center on Rikers Island at the George Motchan Detention Center, where uniformed and non-uniformed staff can exercise or find support between shifts.
2019: New York City became the first major city to offer free phone calls in City jails.
2020: As COVID-19 hit the country, DOC launched a medical separation housing strategy, PPE distribution to all staff and people in custody, the radical expansion of medical areas using a previously closed facility, and the safe and rapid discharge of individuals in custody in order to increase space for social distancing and minimize the risk of exposure inside the city’s jails. The Department also hosts food drives and provides other emergency aid to support communities in need. Chief of Department Hazel Jennings wins the Frederick O’Reilly Hayes Prize for the Department’s COVID-19 Response.
2022: The Department launched its tablet program for people in custody.
2023: Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie appointed Commissioner of DOC.
2023: The Department hosted its first-ever women’s conference to honor women’s contributions to the agency. The Department held its second annual women’s conference in 2024 and organized a men’s conference later that year.
2024: The Department relaunched its Youth Law Enforcement Explorer Program.
2025: The Department opened the first staff wellness center inside a facility, which features a gym, serenity room and business center. Additional wellness centers are planned for all commands across the Island.

The agency will mark it’s 130^th year with a range of events on the Island and in the community throughout 2025. Moreover, the agency will build on its legacy of innovation and modernization in the months and years ahead.

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The New York City Department of Correction (DOC) is dedicated to creating a safe and supportive environment while providing individuals in our care with a path to successfully re-enter their communities.