Former Correction Commissioner Louis Molina’s decision to ban a well-respected doctor from Rikers Island over a handful of critical social media posts will cost taxpayers $375,000, records show.
The city agreed Aug. 1 to pay Dr. James Uhrig the beefy sum to settle his lawsuit against Molina, Mayor Adams and the city filed in federal court in Manhattan in July 2023, a copy of the settlement shows. The the settlement also restores Uhrig’s security clearance, and he can once again see patients held in city jails, the record shows.
Uhrig had expressed support in a number of 2022 posts for a court-appointed receiver to run the city jails and said Molina blaming the flow of drugs into the jails on detainee mail was a “distraction” from the documented problem of smuggling by staff.
In his lawsuit, Uhrig argued Molina’s move violated his free speech rights and it was an attempt to send a “chilling message” to other jail employees to stay quiet. He “had a right to comment on matters of public interest during non-working hours,” the lawsuit said.
“Former DOC Commissioner Louis Molina’s corrupt behavior has cost New Yorkers their lives and their hard-earned money as we continue to pay for his mistakes.” said Uhrig’s lawyer Sarena Townsend.
Townsend noted the alarming spike in jail deaths during Molina’s tenure – there were 19 deaths in 2022 and nine in 2023, many of which revealed breakdowns in Correction Department operations.
“After Dr. Uhrig sounded the alarm, instead of listening to the seasoned doctor, Molina banned him from coming to Rikers, almost ending his impressive and altruistic career. When city ‘leaders’ prioritize ego over reform, as Molina has done time and again, New Yorkers – both in and out of jail – will continue to suffer.”
She added Uhrig will treat patients, including people held in the jails, though not from inside the jails themselves.
The settlement, said city Law Department spokesman Nicholas Paolucci, was “in the best interests of all parties.” The Correction Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Molina, a retired NYPD detective close to Mayor Adams, left the helm of the Correction Department in October 2023 after a stormy tenure that led to increased support for an outside takeover of the jails for an unspecified post under Philip Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety.
Adams then appointed Molina in June to the top job at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which oversees the city’s vast real estate portfolio, procurement, vehicle fleet and promotional exams. Adams described Molina as a “proven and dynamic leader.”
Molina did not respond to a request for comment sent to the DCAS press office.
Uhrig had treated thousands of patients in the jails since April 2018 for acute illnesses and chronic diseases like asthma, diabetes, HIV and substance abuse disorders, and psychological trauma. During his 44-year career, he worked in public health in the U.S. and overseas including stints with the World Health Organization and the United Nations.
Uhrig was not a city employee – he worked for a firm that contracts medical services with city Correctional Health Services. The ban effectively ended his employment.
Molina revoked Uhrig’s security clearance in November 2022 after Uhrig posted to his social media account about drug contraband in the jails and his support for a federal takeover of the jails by a court-appointed receiver.
Uhrig wrote that the effort to ban inmate mail was a “distraction from the issue of drug smuggling by correction officers.”
In March 2023, the Board of Correction refused to vote on Molina’s mail proposal, effectively killing it.
Uhrig also often included the hashtag “#ReceivershipNow” in his posts, often tagging Molina.
When he arrived at work, he found posters containing his picture barring him from the jails. He was then escorted off the island.