ABC 7: Mamdani names former Rikers inmate to run NYC jails, appoints health commissioner

NEW YORK (WABC) — Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced five new members of his administration on Saturday.

Stanley Richards has been chosen to lead New York City’s Department of Correction.

The Mayor’s office says he has decades of criminal justice experience and previously served as a first deputy commissioner. In fact, he is the first formerly incarcerated individual to hold a high-level position at the department.

The president of the Correction Officers’ Union is calling on Richards to listen to the concerns of his members in order to keep city jails as safe as possible, adding that it is the union’s hope he is committed to potting safety and security before political ideology.