A 'jails to jobs' event (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

The humanitarian crisis at Rikers Island is alarming. Criminal justice reform advocates and elected officials are right to demand an end to the violence, death, and chaos. Governor Kathy Hochul deserves praise for ordering the release of nearly 200 detainees. 

But what happens to New Yorkers after they leave Rikers and other correctional facilities?

That’s a key question few in public life are asking.

Here’s the reality: New Yorkers seeking to re-enter our

On Rikers Island (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

Judith is a newly-minted head chef. She had previously been a line cook, and was nervous about interviewing for a job running her own kitchen, but decided to take the plunge after some convincing. When it came time to speak to the hiring manager, Judith, in her own self-assessment, “killed it.”

Before Judith was head chef, before she was a line cook, before she knew kitchen skills, she was incarcerated. But it was her time in “Rosie,” the Rose M. Singer women’s jail on Rikers Island, that placed