New York Announces Six Prisons To Close, Including Southport

[TTL News 313]

Quote

 

Six upstate correctional facilities, including Ogdensburg Correctional in St. Lawrence County, will close next winter after union officials representing state corrections staff met with state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision leaders Monday morning.

The six prison facilities to permanently shutter in early 2022 include Downstate Correctional, in Fishkill, Dutchess County; Ogdensburg Correctional, St. Lawrence County; Southport Correctional, Pine City, Chemung County; Rochester Correctional, Monroe County; Willard Drug Treatment Campus, Seneca County; and Moriah Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility, in Mineville, Essex County; DOCCS spokesman Thomas Mailey said Monday.

The facilities will close at the end of business March 10, 2022.

“New York state continues to be at the forefront of some of the nation’s most progressive criminal justice reforms by spearheading smart and fair policies that have resulted in a drastic decline in the incarcerated population,” Mailey said in a statement.

“As a result of this authorization, the department’s thorough review of its facilities, and the dramatic decline in population it has been determined that six correctional facilities can be safely closed. The closure process will begin immediately.”

No layoffs are anticipated and will result in taxpayer savings of $142 million.

“DOCCS carefully reviewed the operations at its 50 correctional facilities for possible closure,” Mailey said. “This review was based on a variety of factors, including physical infrastructure, program offerings, facility security level, specialized medical and mental health services, proximity of other facilities in the area to minimize the impact to staff, potential re-use options and areas of the state where prior closures have occurred in order to minimize the impact to communities.”

The department also weighed the impact of Less is More and Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act legislation passed last session, preventing parolees from being reincarcerated for technical parole violations and limiting the use of solitary confinement in state facilities.

The six affected facilities include the state’s first maximum-security institutions to close of the 20 correctional facilities to shutter in the last decade under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the state’s incarcerated population declines. Clinton Annex at maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora was closed March 31, but Clinton Correctional remains open.

Maximum-security prisons Southport Correctional Facility has 286 incarcerated New Yorkers with a capacity of 441, and employs 405 people; and Downstate Correctional Facility has 644 staff with 688 incarcerated individuals and full capacity of 1,221, according to Mailey.

“What I found is that there are many facilities, particularly upstate, that are only half full,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said Oct. 27. “We will be looking at a scaling-down initiative.”

Gov. Hochul hinted at future prison closures within the last two weeks, announcing her intent to follow Cuomo’s plans to shutter additional facilities this year as legislated in the 2021-22 budget.

 

Read the rest here.

[Zapp Brannigan 139]

Well we still have ECF to blame on Elmira's downfall.

[KarenK 384]

They say that it's no big deal because guards will be transferred and won't lose their jobs.  How many civilian employees work there?  How many families will leave the area because a spouse just got transferred to a prison across the state?   Will they bump the shorter tenure CO's to other prisons so the long tenured can transfer to ECF?

This could have drastic implications on our local economy.

However, I will be curious to see if there is a drastic drop in crime since the two prisons get blamed for that for the most part.

[MsKreed 1,201]

1 hour ago, TwinTiersLiving said:

“This review was based on a variety of factors, including physical infrastructure, program offerings, facility security level, specialized medical and mental health services, proximity of other facilities in the area to minimize the impact to staff, potential re-use options and areas of the state where prior closures have occurred in order to minimize the impact to communities.”

Yeah, about some of these factors they supposedly examined....... that statement leaves out the part where they are retaining some of the worst infrastructure and closing the ones that would be more cost effective to operate.

 

Southport was built in 1988 and recently underwent all kinds of renovations when they went from maxi-max to a "program" facility. So let's keep Elmira CF open and continue maintaining the 150 year old relic.

Exact same scenario with Downstate, which was constructed in 1979....while Fishkill across the road is a re-purposed psychiatric prison built in 1892.

This is not the first time the State has closed newer facilities while leaving decrepit nearby facilities with unsustainable infrastructure and repairs costs open. 

In 2019....Livingston CF (Mt Morris NY, off 390) was built in 1991 and shuttered in 2019. But across the street we still have Groveland operating in a facility built in 1896.

 

1 hour ago, KarenK said:

They say that it's no big deal because guards will be transferred and won't lose their jobs.  How many civilian employees work there?  How many families will leave the area because a spouse just got transferred to a prison across the state?   Will they bump the shorter tenure CO's to other prisons so the long tenured can transfer to ECF?

This could have drastic implications on our local economy.

I know from other closings, that displacement is a huge problem. Buy a new house, relocate spouse & kids or take on the cost of commute and/or temporary housing and leave the family here. That's a decision that a lot of staff voluntarily make to start their career (often before kids and mortgages are part of the equation), but 15, 20 years in after making roots is devastating. 

As for civilians, they have some placement/relocation options also.....but it's often dependent on where there is an opening for the job/title they are getting booted from.  As small as Monterey was, they had civilians displaced to Elmira, Southport, Willard, Five Points, Groveland/Livingston.....and one had to go to Gowanda (130 miles away) until their job description had an opening in Chemung County.  

Edited November 8, 2021 by MsKreed

[Chris 2,213]

43 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

This is not the first time the State has closed newer facilities while leaving decrepit nearby facilities with unsustainable infrastructure and repairs costs open. 

Setting them up for future closures perhaps?

[MsKreed 1,201]

1 hour ago, Chris said:

Setting them up for future closures perhaps?

Or possibly to continue granting construction/maintenance contracts to their cronies to have perpetual work on the old places?

It's about time they hung a "condemned" sign on Willard; roofs are caved in on several building and all have crumbling asbestos issues. 

Monterey Shock was an astounding waste; they had just renovated all the windows in every building and replaced the $10 million water treatment plan (a 60 year old facility).....instead of closing the pre-Civil War Willard campus that offered inmate the same drug rehab program.

And the vacant property sit abandoned for years after these closings. Monterey is now an overgrown wildlife habitat, and Bayview sits empty on a multi-million dollar corner in Manhattan. Both closed in 2013. 

[MsKreed 1,201]

Even with a year of preparation, many displaced staff from Monterey Shock (and other facilities) were unable to transfer nearby and relocated hours away until closer job openings became available. A mere 90 days creates a huge hardship for them to find positions, housing and relocate families.

I find it baffling that the four unions that represent various NYS Correctional staff did not join forces in legal action when the ruling was passed last year to reduce the notice of prison closures from 1 year down to 90 days.

[Chris 2,213]

I am astounded ( although I know I shouldn’t be ) by the amount of people hailing this as a good thing for our area. Some going so far as to say shit down ECF as well.

Yeah, let’s celebrate and encourage hundreds or more of our neighbors losing their livelihood 🤦‍♂️

[KarenK 384]

1 hour ago, Chris said:

I am astounded ( although I know I shouldn’t be ) by the amount of people hailing this as a good thing for our area. Some going so far as to say shit down ECF as well.

Yeah, let’s celebrate and encourage hundreds or more of our neighbors losing their livelihood 🤦‍♂️

Yes, they think all the crime in Elmira will go away now.  lol.  

[Hal 343]

13 hours ago, MsKreed said:

find it baffling that the four unions that represent various NYS Correctional staff did not join forces in legal action when the ruling was passed last year to reduce the notice of prison closures from 1 year down to 90 days.

I think Mr Palmisano got left out of the loop on this one ! In a letter on local news he stated in a letter  that 12 months notice was needed for such closures . Guess it just shows how out of touch he is with current events . 
This is going to put hardships on COs their families and civilian employees so why aren’t the respective unions and politicians taking this back to the governor ( lower case g intended ) ? 

[MsKreed 1,201]

Cuomo slid the new 90 day provision into the 20-21 budget and used it to close three prisons last year. 

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/gowanda-correctional-facility-to-close-in-90-days/71-54686348-3384-4961-9e21-c187598f7949

 

[Chris 2,213]

52 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

Cuomo slid the new 90 day provision into the 20-21 budget and used it to close three prisons last year. 

I guess they had to “pass it to see what was in it.”

[KarenK 384]

4 hours ago, Hal said:

I think Mr Palmisano got left out of the loop on this one ! In a letter on local news he stated in a letter  that 12 months notice was needed for such closures . Guess it just shows how out of touch he is with current events . 
This is going to put hardships on COs their families and civilian employees so why aren’t the respective unions and politicians taking this back to the governor ( lower case g intended ) ? 

I have not been happy with him as our representative for awhile.  They changed the districting years ago and 1/2 of Erin ended up with him and he has little knowledge or understanding or our area.  Apparently of the state too.   

[MsKreed 1,201]

Now that new census is done, the assembly districts will probably change again!