Phone call fees from New York City jails extract $6 Million of wealth annually from our communities.

For years, the city has been profiting off of petty fees placed on phone calls when people in jail want to speak to a loved one. However, this unjust practice could end with the passing of city council bill Intro 0741 that would prohibit the Department Of Corrections from collecting revenue from phone calls in jail.

We could win this but we don’t have much time. Join us in demanding that city council pass Intro 0741.

According to the New York City 2019 budget, city officials project that $20 million in revenues will be generated from telephone calls, commissary operations, and vending machines in New York City Jails. That means that on a daily basis folks in our community are being exploited and used to pad the pockets of the Department of Corrections simply for wanting to stay in contact with or provide simple comforts for their loved ones in jail.

Of this $20 million, New York City currently pulls nearly $6 million in revenue from phone calls made from city jails alone. When you consider that 89% of New York City’s jail population is Black or Latino, it’s clear that the Department of Corrections is actively and purposefully stripping wealth from communities of color--communities that are already economically distressed. The City should be taking action to alleviate the economic impacts of incarceration, not exacerbate them through predatory profit-making arrangements with private contractors.

Nearly 80 percent of people held in NYC jails are there pre-trial, unable to fight their cases at liberty solely because they cannot meet the bail requirements sought by district attorneys and set by judges. And yet, despite this obvious indicator of poverty, the City sees fit to charge fees on phone calls and other necessities in order to pad its revenue lines. We know how important family contact and communication are for ensuring successful reentry to society. Speaking to family and friends should be encouraged not taxed. Free phone service should be the norm in City jails--this is already the norm in New York state prisons and New York City needs to catch up.  

Demand that New York City Council end phone profiteering by voting YES on Intro 0741. 

Here is the Petition:

Dear NYC City Council,

Families in NYC currently face the burden of choosing between remaining in contact with their incarcerated loved ones and meeting their basic budgetary needs due to the high cost of phone calls to city jails. The NYC Department of Corrections is generating revenue of up to $6 million by profiting off phone calls made to loved ones in jail-- a majority of whom are Black and Latino.

As a city council member you have the responsibility to end this wealth extraction from New York’s communities of color and prove that you value people, and the power of human connection, over profit. Please support Intro 0741 that will do away of this predatory and racist practice.

Sincerely,