BRONX, N.Y. - Standing with a makeshift casket, a member of the correction officers union stood outside the entrance to Rikers Island on Monday saying Mayor Bill de Blasio and Correction Department Commissioner Cynthia Brann are not correctly protecting officers who work in city jails.
“No respect for us. Hoarding masks while she donates 30,000 masks to the FDNY," he said.
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Correction Officers Benevolent Association President Elias Husamudeen is outraged that N-95 masks would be taken from the correction department and recently given to firefighters and EMS workers.
“Take 30,000 out of the only 180,000 that we have of N-95?" said Husamudeen. "We can’t go anywhere Dean, we can’t work from home. We need our PPEs.”
A correction spokesperson responded to the union complaint saying, "We have an adequate supply of masks. The practice of sharing masks is a standard procedure, and we will continue to engage in this practice to ensure we have an appropriate number of masks across our City agencies."
The union president says if that’s the case his members want gowns and goggles from agencies that have those.
“We are the ones working with inmates and you are going to take our supplies?" said Husamudeen.
As of Tuesday, the Correction Department says 367 incarcerated people tested positive for COVID-19 and 816 staff members. The union says the large majority of staff are officers and that six officers have died.
The union says it bought 40,000 masks for officers and took the city to court after the outbreak hit to force officials to give personal protective equipment to COs.
"It looks like we might be going back to court because the reality is if you are depleting our supplies by giving it to another agency then you don’t care about correction officers, you don’t care about the life of correction officers," said Husamudeen.
The correction department says it’s changed procedures and enhanced sanitizing of city jails to help better protect staff and those incarcerated.
The union still contends officer’s masks should not have been given to another agency.