New York City has agreed to pay up to $21.5 million to people who were held in its Central Booking cells, the holding facilities where people wait after an arrest before seeing a judge. Anyone detained in the covered years can ask for up to $475 for each separate detention, but the window to ask closes Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, according to the settlement website.
Which Central Booking detentions count
The settlement settles three federal lawsuits over conditions of confinement at the city’s Central Booking facilities: Capobianco v. City of New York, Brennan v. City of New York and Aboubakar v. City of New York. They were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The city denied wrongdoing and agreed to settle to avoid the risks and expenses of further litigation, according to Claim Depot, a site that tracks settlements.
Two time periods count. At the Brooklyn Central Booking facility, anyone held between April 8, 2017 and Dec. 27, 2019 is covered. At every Central Booking location in the city, anyone held between Feb. 3, 2020 and March 1, 2023 is covered. A person held on a date outside those ranges, or somewhere other than Central Booking, is not part of the class…