RIKERS COS DESCRIBE SEX ASSAULT IN BID TO BRING BACK SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

Two female correction officers are detailing their harrowing experiences of attempted rape and sexual assault at the hands of Rikers Island inmates in a push to reinstate solitary confinement at the troubled lockup. The Corrections Officers’ Benevolent Association put out a new radio spot Thursday slamming City Council members who are pushing for a bill that would […]

FEMALE COS ASK ALBANY TO CURB SEX HARASSMENT

City female correction officers are hopeful that recently introduced state legislation will provide a measure of deterrence and reduce incidents of sexual harassment and other crimes by inmates. Bills in both houses in Albany would amend the penal law and increase the potential punishment for many forms of sexual assault inside city jails. The legislation […]

WHAT IS ERIC ADAMS’S PLAN FOR THE RIKERS ISLAND CRISIS?

Afew weeks before Eric Adams took office as mayor of New York, two of his advisers, Philip Banks and Timothy Pearson, who both, like Adams, once served in the N.Y.P.D., sat down for a meal at a Queens diner with the commissioner of the Department of Correction, Vincent Schiraldi. “I think there’s a way out of this,” […]

CORRECTION OFFICERS’ UNION SEES EARLY WINS UNDER ADAMS ADMINISTRATION

The de Blasio administration did not have the best relationship with the city’s correction officers’ union. But in two weeks, that’s all changed. “To state that I am placating, those who know me know I do not placate,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “I respect union workers.” Adams says a change in direction on Rikers Island […]

ERIC ADAMS VOWS TO IMMEDIATELY REVERSE DE BLASIO BAN ON SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

Mayor-elect Eric Adams introduced the city’s new jail boss on Thursday — and warned the inmates on Rikers Island to start behaving because he plans to immediately reverse outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio’s policy against solitary confinement. “The mayor announced, Dec. 31 he’s going to empty out punitive segregation,” Adams said. “They better enjoy that one-day reprieve because […]

DUCKING BLAME FOR RIKERS

A lawsuit brought by the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association seeking to block enforcement of Mayor de Blasio’s vaccine mandate against its members is a reminder that efforts by him and Correction Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi to blame the holdout officers for the personnel shortage that led to a recent order putting COs on regular 12-hour shifts […]

NYC CORRECTION OFFICERS SUE OVER DE BLASIO’S COVID-19 VACCINE MANDATE, WORK CONDITIONS

The union representing New York City correction officers, the department known as the city’s “boldest,” took a stand Wednesday against Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “draconian” vaccine mandate and subsequent dangerous work conditions by filing a lawsuit against the city demanding that the jab policy be halted. Benny Boscio Jr., the head of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, told the […]

LETTER FROM BENNY BOSCIO
President

Welcome to the official website of The Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association (COBA). COBA is the second-largest law enforcement union in the City of New York. Our members are New York City Correction Officers, also known as New York City’s Boldest, who supervise the second-largest municipal jail system in the nation. COBA is committed to advocating for safer working conditions, wage increases, and excellent benefits for all our members.

Our website was designed to provide helpful information on the latest issues impacting our members and their families. You can also find our official union publications, news clips, and learn about upcoming events.

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STATEMENT FROM COBA PRESIDENT BENNY BOSCIO ON THE FEDERAL MONITOR'S SPECIAL REPORT RELEASED ON MAY 26, 2023

“After being appointed nearly 8 yrs ago and receiving some $20 million in consulting fees by NYC taxpayers, the latest Federal Monitor’s biased and one-sided “special report” is no different than the nearly 36 reports that came before it.

If the Monitor is interested in cherry picking data in a two week period, why then does he exclude the brazen assaults on our officers committed by repeat violent offenders in that same period? Or why does he exclude the numbers of inmates whose lives have been saved thanks to Correction Officers? The reality is that the Federal Monitor and his team have strayed very far from their original mission and this new report conveniently excludes key data showing any progress that is being made to combat jail violence, which is largely the result of the dedication and hard work of our officers serving on the frontlines.

These reports now serve only to provide politically-driven talking points for the City Council and the Board of Correction so they can continue to second guess and scapegoat our members, instead of providing oversight over the monitoring team and asking them what have they really accomplished in eight years to make our jails safer? It’s time for the Monitoring team to go!’

Benny Boscio
COBA President