A powerful congressional committee chairwoman is not ruling out a possible hearing on the conditions at Rikers Island.

“We'll go where the facts take us,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a Manhattan Democrat who leads the House Oversight Committee.

Maloney’s committee has already requested and received a briefing from the mayor’s office about the sprawling city-run lockup, where more than a dozen have died already this year. Last week, she toured the complex with other New York lawmakers.

What You Need To Know

  • Rep. Carolyn Maloney, when asked whether she intends to hold a hearing on the situation at Rikers Island, said, "I'm not ruling it out"

  • Maloney chairs the House Oversight Committee, which has already received a briefing from the mayor's office on the situation there. Maloney has also toured the complex

  • A congressional hearing would add to the scrutiny of Rikers, publicly putting the conditions under the national microscope
  • Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ritchie Torres both voiced support for a possible hearing

A congressional hearing would add to the scrutiny of Rikers, publicly putting the conditions under the national microscope.

“We're in the process of gaining materials and studying what is taking place,” she said. “You've got my attention. You've got the attention of the New York delegation.”

Bronx Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ritchie Torres joined Maloney on that recent tour. Afterward, both voiced support for a public hearing.

“Sunlight has improved dramatically what is going on there,” said Ocasio-Cortez, who is a member of the House Oversight panel.

But both also stressed that a conversation about the jail conditions alone will not cut it.

“We need to be examining the courts and the conditions and the laws that are sending people there,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

“The court system is sending far too many people in Rikers Island, and is keeping them for far too long a period of time,” Torres said.

Rep. Tom Suozzi, who also toured Rikers last week, did not object to the idea of a hearing, saying in an interview that “oversight by other government agencies can't hurt other than pulling resources away.”

“What really needs to be done is it needs to be managed properly,” he continued.

Maloney has given no timeline on when she will make a decision on whether to hold a hearing.

A federal monitor is already overseeing Rikers.

Last month, all of the New York City Democrats in Congress requested the Biden administration intervene at the jail complex, and asked the U.S. Department of Justice for a civil rights probe.