NEW YORK—Oct. 5, 2025—Mayor Eric Adams signed Emergency Executive Order 867, extending a key provision of Order 865 for five days to address persistent crises in the city’s Department of Correction, including at Rikers Island. The move prioritizes compliance with the federal Nunez use-of-force case and the 2022 Nunez Action Plan, citing ongoing attrition-driven staffing shortages that threaten sanitation, showers, meals, visitation, religious services, commissary, and recreation. The jail system’s state of emergency, first declared in 2021, remains in effect; the extension is effective immediately and may be modified or terminated earlier.
Emergency Executive Order 867
WHEREAS, on September 2, 2021, the federal monitor in the Nunez use-of-force class action stated that steps must be taken immediately to address the conditions in the New York City jails; and
WHEREAS, on June 14, 2022, the federal court in Nunez approved the Nunez Action Plan, which “represents a way to move forward with concrete measures now to address the ongoing crisis at Rikers Island”; and
WHEREAS, although there has been improvement in excessive staff absenteeism, extraordinarily high rates of attrition due to staff retirements and other departures continue to seriously affect the Department of Correction’s (DOC’s) staffing levels and create a serious risk to DOC’s ability to carry out the safety and security measures required for the maintenance of sanitary conditions; and access to basic services, including showers, meals, visitation, religious services, commissary, and recreation; and
WHEREAS, this Order is given to prioritize compliance with the Nunez Action Plan and to address the effects of DOC’s staffing levels, the conditions at DOC facilities, and health operations; and
WHEREAS, additional reasons for requiring the measures continued in this Order are set forth in Emergency Executive Order No. 140 of 2022, Emergency Executive Order No. 579 of 2024, and Emergency Executive Order 623 of 2024; and
WHEREAS, the state of emergency existing within DOC facilities, first declared in Emergency Executive Order No. 241, dated September 15, 2021, and extended by subsequent orders, remains in effect;
NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to the powers vested in me by the laws of the State of New York and the City of New York, including but not limited to the New York Executive Law, the New York City Charter and the Administrative Code of the City of New York, and the common law authority to protect the public in the event of an emergency:
Section 1. I hereby direct that section 1 of Emergency Executive Order No. 865, dated September 30, 2025, is extended for five (5) days.
§ 2. This Emergency Executive Order shall take effect immediately and shall remain in effect for five (5) days unless it is terminated or modified at an earlier date.
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Eric Adams
Mayor
October 5, 2025
Download Emergency Executive Order 867
Sources: NYC.gov Big New York News BigNY.com
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