New York prepared to close up to 5 prisons; Republicans decry move

Feb. 3—ALBANY — New York's prison system has seen a precipitous drop in the number of people incarcerated and people working in the facilities, and up to five more campuses could close in the coming year if a proposal from Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul's executive budget is accepted by lawmakers.

The state prisons have lost more than 55% of their incarcerated population since they peaked in 1999, according to testimony from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision's acting commissioner, Daniel F. Martuscello III, before a joint legislative hearing on the budget on Jan. 25. The population decreased from nearly 73,000 people incarcerated in 1999 to just under 33,000 now.

"This dramatic reduction in the incarcerated population has resulted in our ability to right-size the system with the closure of facilities and consolidation of housing units across the state," Martuscello told the committee.

The state has already closed more than 20 prisons in the last 15 years with plans to redevelop some of the sites.

At the same time, staffing numbers for the remaining prisons have trended downward, with many jobs left unfilled, especially corrections officer positions, Martuscello told the committee.

"As a result of current staffing levels and excess capacity, the executive budget recommends the closure of up to five correctional facilities to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the system," he said.

Low prisoner populations and low staffing numbers can and have caused serious security concerns. When a prison is underpopulated or understaffed, there are more opportunities for violence or other criminal behavior, Martuscello said. Last year, there were more than 1,600 incidents of assaults on staff members, up 13%, and more than 2,100 incidents of assault on an incarcerated person, up 42%.

For both categories, that's the highest ever recorded, even with the lower incarcerated population, he said.

DOCCS is implementing body scanners and other security technology, staff training and safety programs to cut down on violence in the prison system, but officials have taken prison closures and population consolidations on as key to improving safety.

State Republican lawmakers, especially those from the north country who represent communities that host prisons, have pushed back on the idea that consolidating populations and closing facilities is the answer to prison safety. They argue that the state needs more prisons and a culture change on how it addresses crime and corrections to make prisons safe again. They also tie prisons to public safety, and say a more supported, expansive and strict prison system is the answer to cutting down on crime.

In a news conference on Wednesday, the Republican lawmakers laid out that argument again and said they will continue to protest downsizing of the state prison system.

They said that the prison closures contribute to the loss of staff. When a facility closes, corrections officers and support staff assigned there are given the opportunity to move to another facility, but not all take the offer. Each year that state officials have closed a prison, the number of corrections officers drops.

"We are losing, every two weeks approximately 54 COs, and there are only 50 to 100 currently in training or at the academy," Assemblyman Brian Maher, R-Walden, said, citing statistics he said he was provided by DOCCS. Maher's district in the lower Hudson Valley includes Eastern Correctional Facility.

Assemblyman Scott A. Gray, R-Watertown, whose district includes the Cape Vincent Correctional Facility and borders Gouverneur and the prison there, has opposed any plan to close prisons in his 116th Assembly District. The district includes the closed Watertown and Ogdensburg correctional facilities, in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Gray said those closures were economic sledgehammers.

"Having already withstood the significant socioeconomic impact of two previous prison closures, our local families and economy are still grappling with the aftermath," Gray wrote in a letter to Hochul on Jan. 20.

The lawmakers have also taken issue with the governor's plan to give 90 days' notice for a prison closure. The Republican legislators said that is too short of a timeframe for communities to prepare for the sudden departure of a major employer, and too short for staff to adequately prepare.

"I write to you today to request a pardon from the planned closure of any prisons in the 116th Assembly District," Gray added. "The rationale for this request is not solely based on past experiences, but also on the inherently unfair 90-day window allotted for these closures. Such a brief time frame is grossly inadequate for families to adjust to the upheaval of their lives."

A spokesperson for DOCCS on Friday said that facilities for closure have not yet been identified, and declined to share information on what metrics are being used to make the closure decisions.

"The Governor's budget contains Article 7 language to allow the State to act expeditiously to right-size and eliminate excess capacity by allowing for the closure of up to five correctional facilities with 90 days' notice, thus allowing for an increase in operational efficiency of the correctional system," the spokesperson said. "The facilities have not yet been identified."

While the Republicans are decrying attempts to downsize the state's prison system, citing concerns over the economic impact on their communities and public safety statewide, corrections reform advocates are unconvinced, yet critical of New York's corrections system.

Jose Saldana, director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, who was incarcerated in New York state prisons for 38 years and released in 2018, said prison closures are welcomed by his organization. He advocates for corrections reform, and said that economic concerns over the role prisons play in communities should be disregarded.

"We are well aware that many prison-adjacent communities across the state shamelessly depend on mass incarceration for jobs and related economic activity," he said in a statement shared Jan. 31, following the Republicans' press conference on prisons. "Our bodies are not your cash crop. Still, we care about all people, and in that spirit we must say: your lawmakers are failing you, if all they are doing is fecklessly complaining about prison closures."

Saldana said those lawmakers should be working to bring other economic opportunities to their regions, without relying on what he called a "legacy of slavery."

Assemblyman Kenneth D. Blankenbush, R-Black River, said the north country was hesitant to build prisons when they were asked; most were opened in the 1980s and 1990s to account for increasing numbers of incarcerated people from New York City.

"The north country, unlike other New York communities, was hesitant to build prisons," Blankenbush said. "We stepped up and made these facilities an integral part of our economic infrastructure. Now, those residents who built careers within the prisons may be at risk of losing their livelihoods. Public safety is a joke in New York with criminals being able to roam free, thousands of migrants pouring in each month and now correctional facilities shutting down."

Gray and Blankenbush were critical of the governor's office for failing to help bring those new opportunities to the region. When Ogdensburg and Watertown correctional facilities were closed, Hochul promised to put state resources toward redeveloping them, and pledged not to let them sit and rot away.

In December 2022, the Hochul administration released a report on prison redevelopment recommendations, pledging to remove the razor wire at Ogdensburg and two other prisons upstate, keep the heat and power on at Ogdensburg and two other facilities, and prioritize the release of a redevelopment bid from a developer in 2023. While some of that has happened — the power and heat remain active at Ogdensburg and the razor wire is largely removed — action on redevelopment at Watertown appears to have stalled.

"Our communities are prepared to work on redevelopment, whether for mental health services, treatment facilities or housing, if a determined need exists," Gray said in his letter to Hochul. "The people of the 116th Assembly District want better, deserve better and are prepared to work for better."