There are new details today about the closure of several correctional facilities in New York next year.
The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision says Ogdensburg Correctional Facility, Moriah Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility, Willard Drug Treatment Campus, Southport Correctional Facility, Downstate Correctional Facility and Rochester Correctional Facility will close at the end of the day on March 10.
It comes after the state budget approved last year authorized the governor to close the prisons to save money, with the population of incarcerated people dropping. DOCCS says as of today, the number of people in state correctional facilities is around 31,000 — the lowest since 1984 and a decrease of nearly 13,000 since 2020.
DOCCS says the facilities slated to close were chosen after a careful review of operations across 50 prisons, based on physical infrastructure, program offerings, security level, medical and mental health care services, proximity to other facilities, potential reuse options, and community impact.
DOCCS says it will work with bargaining units to provide staff transfer possibilities and does not anticipate layoffs. The closures are expected to save $142 million.
In WAMC’s listening area, Moriah Shock in Essex County is a minimum security facility with a capacity of 300, 74 current prisoners and a staff of 107.
Maximum security Downstate Correctional Facility in Dutchess County has 644 staffers, 688 prisoners and a capacity of 1,221.
In a statement, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, a Republican Congressional candidate, says:
“Today’s announcement about the closure of the Downstate Correctional Facility has taken Dutchess County by surprise. There has been no coordination between the Governor’s Office and Dutchess County on the closure of this large facility, nor a coordinated plan for the future use of the parcel and the hundreds of workers who will be affected. Make no mistake: Inmates at Downstate are not being released; they will simply be transferred to remaining State prisons or to county jails throughout New York. Today's announcement only leaves Dutchess County with more questions than answers.”