Mark Weiner
Syracuse Media Group, N.Y.
NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers have agreed to close two state prisons within the next year, according to a tentative state budget deal reached Friday.
Cuomo last month asked for approval to close three prisons by Labor Day, citing record declines in New York’s prison population and a declining crime rate.
But after objections by some Upstate New York lawmakers, the budget agreement authorized closing two prisons which have not yet been identified, said state Assemblyman Al Stirpe, D-Cicero.
Cuomo has asked the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to recommend which of the state’s 54 correctional facilities should be closed.
The governor wants to transfer prison officers and inmates to correctional facilities that have excess capacity.
A group of Upstate lawmakers including state Sen. Patty Ritchie have started an online petition drive against the plans. Ritchie says the closings would make the remaining prisons less safe and take an economic toll on small communities.
Unions representing the state’s correctional officers say a better option would be to eliminate double bunks in existing prisons.
Michael B. Powers, president of the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, criticized the budget deal Friday.
“The governor and Legislature have seemingly done the impossible,” Powers said. “They’ve made one of the most dangerous prison systems in the country even more dangerous for both incarcerated individuals and correctional officers.”
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