New York pays $24M to settle prison beating lawsuit

New York pays $24 million to family of man beaten to death by prison guards

New York State will pay $24 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit after Robert Brooks died in 2024 from a brutal beating by corrections officers at Marcy Correctional Facility. Video evidence showed multiple guards kicking and punching Brooks in an infirmary; one was later convicted of murder, and six others pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The killing provoked a three-week wildcat strike by other officers and led lawmakers to mandate additional security cameras and oversight across the state prison system.

Brooks’s family sued, alleging officials ignored long-standing abuse inside the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). The suit argued the state’s failure to address patterns of excessive force directly enabled Brooks’s death. Advocates and elected officials, including State Sen. Julia Salazar, say the settlement highlights entrenched brutality and cover-ups in New York’s prisons, calling for systemic reforms and enforcement actions to prevent future abuse.

The settlement was confirmed to a federal court last Friday. State legislators passed the camera requirement with the 2024 budget, and the first oversight hearings on prison violence impact are calendared for November. Watch for implementation updates and reports filed in that session.

Four more

• Rikers monitor accuses Department of Correction of hiding reform plans · Monitor Steve Martin’s letter to Judge Swain this month alleges the DOC is actively blocking federally appointed oversight after initial signals of cooperation from the Mamdani administration and a new reform commissioner. The dispute now centers on DOC’s transparency in implementing required changes to reduce jail violence. (Gothamist) → The next federal status hearing is scheduled for early October.

• Party control keeps most NYC judges unknown to voters, NY1 series finds · NY1’s “Building the Bench” reports that party leaders largely decide candidates before ballots reach the public, leaving most judicial races uncontested. Errol Louis and Courtney Gross emphasized upcoming Family and Criminal Court appointments as Mayor Mamdani exerts influence. About 400 judges serve in NYC, yet competitive elections remain rare. (NY1)

• Manhattan renters say submetered utilities push bills to $400, penalize tenants for wasted energy · Tenants at five complexes in Harlem and Roosevelt Island report that even after drastically cutting electricity use, their submetered bills stay high, often near $400/month, as owners shift buildingwide inefficiency costs downstream. Residents protested in August, demanding regulatory intervention, after updated owner responses were added to City Limits’ story. (City Limits)

• Applications open for 44 affordable Hell’s Kitchen apartments at The Lirio · The project, a city partnership with Hudson Companies and Housing Works, offers permanent affordable and supportive units, some for residents once unhoused, with rents varying by household income bands. Two-bedrooms start at $863; three-bedrooms at $3,186. The application window closes October 15. (6sqft) → Who actually pays for this? How the MTA Is Funded

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• EMS life-threatening emergency response times rise nearly 2 minutes in NYC
• 20-year-old man dies in Department of Correction custody at Queens court
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• Regents exams will no longer be required for NYC high school graduation in 2028
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• NYC Housing Calendar: Upcoming events and housing lottery deadlines for September 21–28
• Mamdani releases mixed city scorecard on management and social services