Eric M. Taylor served as Chief of the NYC Department of Corrections from 1994 to 2000. Over the course of his leadership, he helped guide the agency to significant gains in jail safety, efficiency, and performance.

Taylor grew up in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant. From a young age, he was interested in pursuing a law enforcement career. Taylor was a Wingate High School graduate and went to New York University as an undergraduate. He joined NYC Corrections in May 1973 and first served at the then-newly opened Adolescent Reception and Detention Center on Rikers. In March 1974, he began working for the NYPD, first at Ozone Park's 106th Precinct and then Far Rockaway's 101st Precinct.

In 1975, a city fiscal crisis led to layoffs for newly hired police officers, so Taylor returned to the Department of Corrections. In his 25 years of service, he advanced through a variety of positions, including serving as warden at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center (OBCC) and the North Infirmary Command, both on Rikers Island, as well as at the Maritime Facility in Manhattan, then the City’s—and the nation’s—first floating jail. He also served as deputy warden of the OBCC and as Division Chief managing six correctional facilities and the Rikers Island Security Unit. In addition, Taylor served as Commanding Officer of the Health Management Division, Executive Officer of Applicant Investigations Unit, and Executive Assistant to Commissioner Jacqueline McMickens. He was promoted to Chief of the Department of Corrections on June 1, 1994.

Chief Taylor’s long association with the Correction Guardians led the organization to honor him at a testimonial dinner in 1996. He is a member of One Hundred Black Men of New York, Inc., and a participating father in the Nassau County Chapter of Jack & Jill of America, Inc. He retired in 2000, but returned to the Department of Corrections in 2024 at the age of 72 to serve as Deputy Commissioner of Custody Management, Classification, and Facility Operations.

Located on Rikers Island, the Eric M. Taylor Center was built in 1964 and expanded in 1973. Previously named the Correctional Institution for Men, the structure was renamed in the then-retired Chief’s honor on July 14, 2000. The facility closed in March 2020, and reopened later in the same month for new intakes showing symptoms COVID-19 and people in custody who had tested positive for the virus. It is now used mainly for the processing of male detainees entering the system.