Soft-on-crime policies appeared to prove hard-on-jobs as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) plan for two maximum security prisons was destined to damage communities.
Between sentence reductions, options against prosecutions and other leftist criminal justice pipe-dream policies that resulted in increased recidivism, the party of Defund the Police has repeatedly proven a disconnect with the concerns of its constituents.
Now, a statement from the Empire State’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision revealed that hundreds of prison staff could now find themselves on the unemployment line as the governor’s plan to shutter two upstate facilities was advanced.
Having already closed six facilities during her tenure, a third of what her predecessor former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) did during his administration according to the New York Daily News, Hochul’s DOCCS claimed to have “carefully conducted a review of the operations at its 44 correctional facilities to determine which facilities to close.”
“This review was based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, diminished populations, physical infrastructure, program offerings and whether they can be relocated to other institutions,” the statement continued on shuttering the Great Meadow Correctional facility in Washington County and Sullivan Correctional Facility in Sullivan County as of of Nov. 6, 2024.
While the former was said to have 480 prisoners with a capacity for 1,595 and the latter 426 out of a potential 560, combined they accounted for 930 employees that would be made to choose between relocating, retiring, or seeking a new job.
“The governor has a funny way of showing she’s from Upstate New York,” said state Sen. Jake Ashby (R) in a statement on the impact his constituents would have as prisoners would be relocated to 13 other facilities in the state.
“Closing Great Meadows is a job-killing, community-devastating disaster that flies in the face of real statistics and can only be justified by misleading ones,” he continued before calling out staffing shortages and upticks in assaults within the prisons themselves.
Statement from Senator Jake Ashby regarding the closing of Great Meadows Correctional Facility in Washington County. pic.twitter.com/OHajymbzBv
— NYS Senate Republicans (@nysenategop) July 18, 2024
Similarly, representing the people of Sullivan County, state Sen. Peter Oberacker (R) stated in part, “If changes need to be made to our correctional system, then it should come with sound planning on how to fix it, adequate notice to all those affected, and a plan to help mitigate any negative economic impact on employees and communities.”
“Governor Hochul’s announcement of the closing of two Upstate prisons is just another disturbing extension of the weak-on-crime policies coming from her and the extreme downstate liberals.”
FULL STATEMENT: pic.twitter.com/2uFS7221wB
— Peter Oberacker (@SenOberacker) July 18, 2024
Meanwhile, the DOCCS lamented in a statement, “If we do not see an increase in recruitment, it may be necessary to consider additional closures within the fiscal year.”
Speaking on behalf of the impacted employees, New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association President Chris Summers released his own statement that read, “Redistributing staff through prison closures will accomplish the same thing it has always accomplished: a short term staffing boost to a handful of facilities with little to no long term relief.”
“The State of New York needs to take bold and creative action to fix the staffing issue that is creating low morale and pushing members to their limits,” he went on. “Closing prisons and expecting different results certainly is not bold and creative, it is shortsighted.”
According to data from the state, the prison population had reached a high of nearly 73,000 in 1999 and as of Thursday had been 54% lower at just over 33,400. Between allowing more criminals to walk and failing to address the issues of staff employed, it is worth noting that the legislature had approved the budget that permitted the closure of up to five facilities.
Great Meadow is closing in 90 days!!!! Not enough inmates in NYS!! no one is arrested , and if they are, they are out on the street asap!!!! We need to get rid of bail reform and less is more crappy laws! Plus removal of all radical pro criminals DAs and Judges
— darweesh heiba (@DarweeshHeiba) July 20, 2024
Prison closures have a ripple effect — they have a negative economic impact on their host communities, a negative impact on staff who must be moved around, and can lead to overcrowding that will further endanger the brave men and women who work in the prisons.
— NYS Senate Republicans (@nysenategop) July 18, 2024
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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