Mayor Eric Adams appointed Lynelle Maginley-Liddie as the new NYC Department of Corrections (DOC) Commissioner this past Friday, Dec. 8. She becomes the second Black woman to serve in the role, moving up from her previous post in the department as first deputy commissioner under her predecessor, Louis Molina, who now works at City Hall. The new commissioner also headed the department’s diversity efforts before her promotion.
Maginley-Liddie underscored her Carribean heritage and experience as a first-generation American throughout Friday’s appointment.
“I came to this country as an immigrant from Antigua more than two decades ago to pursue my passion for law and public service,” she said. “My parents and family have supported me in every step of that journey and I owe them everything. My journey is not unique—it is the embodiment of the American dream.”
The new commissioner first entered the DOC as an agency attorney back in 2015. Previously, she worked at the law offices of Leader Berkon Colao & Silverstein LLP, according to the Mayor’s Office.
“Lynelle Maginley-Liddie has spent the better part of a decade at the Department of Corrections, and I [am] confident that she is the right person to lead the department going forward,” said the mayor.
But Maginley-Liddie inherits a slew of Rikers Island-related concerns, including mounting detainee deaths, federal receivership hearings, and the legally mandated jails closure by 2027. The new commissioner said she would focus on the “restoration and investment in a safe, secure, humane, and environment” for every person in DOC custody.
Last year, 19 people died in or immediately after DOC custody. Nine people died this year, bringing the total of known deaths since the Adams administration took over to 28.
When asked about receivership, Maginley-Liddie said it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that the federal judge overseeing the Nunez litigation would appoint a third-party receiver to temporarily take over Rikers and see through the necessary reforms.
The Legal Aid Society, which co-represented the Nunez plaintiffs, welcomed Maginley-Liddie’s appointment with an optimistic statement, pointing to her years in the DOC as providing confidence in her knowledge of “the long-standing issues plaguing the city’s jail system” and looked forward to working with her. But the organization argued that no single person can fix the “deterioration” of city jails and maintained the need for a receiver.
The Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association (COBA), the union representing DOC staff, also commended Maginley-Liddie’s experience.
“Obviously, we are living in one of the most challenging times in the history of our agency, and these difficult times call for strong leadership from someone who knows our jail system very well,” said COBA President Benny Boscio in a statement. “We have enjoyed a productive relationship with Lynelle Maginley-Liddie while she served as first deputy commissioner and we look forward to working with her in her new role as the head of our agency.”
Freedom Agenda co-director Darren Mack, spokesperson for the Campaign to Close Rikers, maintained the unfixable nature of Rikers Island and the need to close the jails by the scheduled deadline.
“Rikers is irredeemable no matter who is running it,” Mack said in a statement. “Any commissioner who is committed to transparency and safeguarding the rights of people in custody will recognize that an isolated penal colony built on toxic land could never be consistent with those goals. We hope Commissioner Maginley-Liddie will focus on getting Rikers closed while reducing harm in every way possible for people there now, instead of trying to hide and justify its abuses.”
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.