Workers say safety concerns were ignored prior to violent juvie riot

A violent uprising at the Horizon Juvenile Center in The Bronx June 21 left eight youth development specialists injured and has intensified calls from the union representing juvenile detention workers for an investigation into what it describes as a preventable breakdown in safety and security.

Leaders of Social Service Employees Union Local 371 say the disturbance, which erupted on Father's Day and involved roughly 40 residents, came after weeks of warning signs that management failed to address. According to the union, residents assaulted staff members, seized facility keys and radios, gained access to other housing units and attacked fellow residents with makeshift weapons during a chaotic incident that lasted hours.

"For the past three weeks to a month, there were several attacks on supervisors in the facility where the kids were trying to take their keys," said Darek Robinson, the union's vice president for grievance and legal services. "That was a warning sign right there."

The union contends that despite repeated assaults and attempted key grabs, no significant security or operational adjustments were implemented before last week's disturbance.

The facility has an infamous history and has been subject to an independent monitor who found in 2022 that staff were reluctant to restrain teens, some of whom were charged in 2024 with smuggling marijuana, razor blades and other contraband into the facility.

The monitoring team has also argued that the facilities high rate of staff turnover harmed efforts to curb violence. But last year, in its seventh report since beginning oversight in 2021, the monitor concluded that its mission was "complete."

'It was brutal'

According to Robinson, the incident June 21 began shortly after 5 p.m. when residents targeted staff in an effort to gain access to facility keys used to move throughout the building. Residents ‘jumped’ the staff members to steal the keys before entering other housing areas and assaulting both staff and other residents. 

"It was bad. It was brutal," Robinson said. "The building was out of staff control."

The Administration for Children's Services offered a markedly different characterization of the incident.

"The situation at Horizon Juvenile Center was resolved Sunday evening and the facility is secured," an ACS spokesperson said in a statement. "The safety and security of young people and staff in our secure detention facilities is our top priority. We greatly appreciate the efforts made by our dedicated staff, including those who helped de-escalate the situation."

Robinson said he arrived at Horizon around 9:45 p.m. and observed conditions that remained volatile hours after the disturbance began. Residents continued moving throughout portions of the facility, threatening employees and attempting to force entry into secured areas, he said.

Workers suffered serious injuries

Eight youth development specialists were hospitalized with injuries that included a dislocated shoulder, head trauma, a possible fractured jaw, a fractured nose, knee injuries and deep wounds that required stitches, according to the union. Robinson said one employee required eight stitches after suffering a deep cut to the arm.

Several residents were also injured. Robinson said six youths suffered stab wounds that required medical treatment.

He argued the riot resulted from chronic overcrowding, inadequate emergency planning and a lack of consequences for violent behavior, creating increasingly dangerous conditions for workers

"Our members feel very unsafe. They are petrified to come to work," he said. "A lot of staff don't come to work because there are no consequences."

According to the union, Horizon currently houses approximately 187 residents despite having only 125 beds. Robinson also said younger adolescents are housed alongside older residents, including some as old as 20 and 21.

NYPD denied entry

The union additionally alleges that the NYPD was called to the facility twice during the disturbance but was denied entry both times by ACS Deputy Commissioner Nancy Ginsburg, who oversees the city's juvenile detention facilities.

The union has directed much of its criticism at Ginsburg, whom Robinson accused of prioritizing the interests of residents over the safety concerns of frontline employees.

"The conflict of interest comes because she was a former Legal Aid defense attorney for the kids and now she's the commissioner," Robinson said. "There's no balance."

Robinson further alleged that residents have come to believe violent behavior carries few consequences, pointing to what he characterized as a pattern of youths remaining in detention facilities after serious assaults.

The union is demanding a full investigation into the disturbance, criminal accountability for residents involved in assaults and stabbings, a review of security protocols and immediate steps to improve workplace safety.

"We're demanding consequences," Robinson said. "Our main priority right now is the safety of the residents and the safety of our staff."

According to an ACS spokesperson, the disturbance involved a conflict between two groups of young people that resulted in injuries to both residents and staff who attempted to restore order. The agency said seven youths and eight staff members were transported to hospitals for treatment and that none of the injuries were life-threatening.

ACS also pointed to recent efforts to improve staffing and security, including retention initiatives, expanded training programs, additional contraband searches and the installation of enhanced screening equipment throughout its secure detention facilities.

The agency said serious assaults can result in arrest and prosecution and rejected suggestions that violent conduct goes unpunished.

Nevertheless, Robinson said the events of June 21 have deepened a sense of fear among employees who believe longstanding concerns about staffing, security and overcrowding have not been adequately addressed.

"This incident did not occur without warning," he said.