NYC NOW - New York City Speeds Up Sexual Abuse Investigations in Its Jails

Episode Date: November 18, 2025

New York City’s Department of Transportation is installing public cabinets to charge e-bike batteries. The chair of the MTA says most riders are now using OMNY tap-to-pay. And new data says prison sexual abuse is being investigated faster

New York City's Department of Transportation is installing public cabinets to charge e-bike batteries. The chair of the MTA says most writers are now using Omni. And new data says prison sexual abuse is being investigated faster in New York. From WNYC, this is NYC now. I'm Elizabeth Shui, in for Jenae Pierre. New York City's Department of Transportation says they're installing dozens of public cabinets to swap and charge e-bike batteries in neighborhoods with the highest delivery traffic. Delivery workers will be able to use the public cabinets through a paid membership. The idea is to reduce charging

e-bike batteries at home, which can lead to deadly and hard to extinguish fires. DoT will work with the fire department to make sure all batteries are certified and safe. All battery cabinets will have fire suppression features. They'll be placed in most of Manhattan, downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Long Island City and parts of the South Bronx. MTA chair, Jano Lieber, says most riders are now using the Omni tap-to-pay system. We're already up to well over 90% of riders using Omni. And even the reduced fare customers that seniors and disabled people who qualify for reduced fare are fair-fares customers as well, have adopted Omni to 90% level in just a few months.

Lieber spoke on WNYC's The Brian Lear Show. The MTA is phasing out the Metro card and we'll stop selling them on December 31st. But if you're still using one, the MTA says you can transfer your balance or get reimbursed. The Omni system lets you tap credit cards and smart devices to pay for the subway or bus. The MTA also sells Omni tap cards. Up next, new data on how the Department of Correction is responding to a abuse in New York jails. That's after the break.

A quick heads up, this segment contains mention of rape and sexual abuse. In 2022, the New York State Legislature passed the adult survivor Act. This opened up a one-year window for survivors of sexual abuse and assault to file civil lawsuits, even if the statute of limitations had passed. New data from the City Department of Corrections shows that the Adams administration has been investigating complaints of rape and sexual abuse in city jails more quickly than before. 45% of investigations took longer than 90 days back in 2023. That dropped to just 7% in 24, and in the first half of this year, just 3% of investigations exceeded 90 days.

That's WNYC's Joe Hong. After the Adult Survivors Act passed, over 700 women filed lawsuits against the city, saying they were raped or sexually abused while they were being held at a certain place. And that is the women's jail at Rikers Island. A WNYC investigation found multiple instances where different women were identifying the same guards over and over again. Some of those guards were still working at the women's jail. Adams was asked about this repeatedly, and he promised a thorough investigation, but none ever came. While there wasn't an investigation after the lawsuits, Joe says that this new data shows the correction department began investigating new complaints faster. What we can see in this data

is that pretty immediately after these lawsuits were filed, the correction department began investigating new complaints they were getting much more promptly. Now I'm not referring to the lawsuits. I mean active complaints that were coming in from detainees in real time. He says experts that he spoke to say that long investigations affect the culture inside prisons. They can discourage survivors from filing complaints and also affect staff. Employees are taken off their post if there's an allegation made against them. So the longer the investigation takes, the longer that the staff is off their post. Still, there are some red flags. Since, 2022, the overall number of complaints has been dropping compared to the previous year,

even as the population in city jails has grown. Legal experts say it's basically a known fact that sexual assaults are underreported in jails. And the fact that the number of complaints are going down on top of that is reason for concern. The city says that drop is thanks to higher staffing and better training. Experts also flag that the percentage of proven claims has gone up. in the past two years, but still remains lower than the national average. For experts, that means investigations aren't being conducted thoroughly,

although the city maintains that every complaint is taken seriously. That's WNYC's Joe Hong. Looking for a side hustle, the first week of winter is is just a month away, and the city is starting to prepare for snowstorms. The sanitation department is hiring emergency snow shovelers. You need to be at least 18 years old and able to help shovel snow from bus stops, sidewalks, and steps. Pay starts at $19 an hour and increases to $29 an hour after the first 40 hours worked in a week. You can register for an appointment on a sanitation department's website.

Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. I'm Elizabeth Shui. See you tomorrow.