New York State’s only minimum security prison for women will be closing. This after Governor Andrew Cuomo said the prison operates at a high vacancy rate, and is one of the least efficient in the state.
Beacon Correctional Facility in Dutchess County will be closing no sooner than 60 days after the state budget is adopted. A Division of Budget spokesman says the closing comes as part of the Public Protection and General Government budget bill that has gone to print. He says the 66 inmates will be transferred to Taconic Correctional Facility in Westchester County’s Bedford Hills, a medium security prison for women. The spokesman says he believes that all employees from Beacon Correctional will be accommodated within New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Services. The closure comes after State Senator Terry Gipson and Assemblyman Frank Skartados, both Democrats, along with Beacon’s mayor, and others, fought to keep the facility open. They will now focus on trying to ensure the facility is re-purposed and becomes an economic contributor once again.
