Rikers Island
Rikers Island is the prison where the Pack (except for Dingo) were incarcerated following their initial arrests. Dingo and Coyote 1.0 broke them out (except for Fox), and Fox was afterwards granted an early parole for refusing to escape and for protecting a guard from Hyena. ("Her Brother's Keeper", "Leader of the Pack")
In December 1995, Tony Dracon was sent to Rikers after the gargoyles and police foiled his protection racket. ("Protection") [1]
After his turf war with the Dracons, Tomas Brod wound up sharing a prison cell with Tony, much to the delight of Elisa. ("Turf", "A Little Crazy")
Jason Canmore was also incarcerated here after his arrest; his sister Robyn visited him there on December 31, 1996. ("Estranged")
Hyena and Wolf were re-imprisoned in Rikers after the events of "The Green" and "Vendettas", but Jackal broke them out in early 1997. ("Phoenix")
In May 1997, Goliath was detained at Rikers after being captured by the Gargoyle Taskforce in Central Park. ("Render Unto Caesar")
Real World Background
Situated in the East River, in the borough of the Bronx, the prison is the largest in New York City. The prison, first opened in 1932, has a poor reputation for, among other things, substantiated reports of physical and mental abuse and neglect on its inmates.
In 1957, Northeast Airlines Flight 823 crashed shortly after its departure from nearby LaGuardia Airport, killing twenty of the ninety-five on board. Prison staff and inmates rushed to help those that survived, which resulted in thirty sentences commuted and an additional sixteen reduced.
In 2019, the New York City Council voted to close down the complex by 2026, although the timeline is non-binding with efforts to close it sooner. Once closed, the plan is for a network of smaller prison complexes for each New York borough. [2][3]
See Also
- Rikers Island at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
