The Malone Telegram
NEW YORK — Upstate Correctional Facility will be getting some upgrades as part of a statewide initiative to replace outdated cell doors.
According to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYSDOCCS) public information office, 702 doors will be replaced by June 2014 for an approximate cost of $2.8 million. The state Office of General Services is estimating it will accept a bid for the job in late March.
The existing 702 doors contain a 9" x 7" solid Plexiglas window, the new doors will have a larger 23" x 11" checkered crossbar window screen accompanied by an exterior staff-operated sliding window shield made of solid Plexiglas,” according to an email from Peter Cutler, NYSDOCCS spokesman.
“The [new] cell doors will have an improved vision panel to ease the ability for the offender to communicate with others and for staff to conduct visual inspections,” said Cutler via email.
Other state prisons getting new doors as part of the project include maximum-security Five Points and Southport correctional facilities and medium-security Greene and Mid-State correctional facilities. A total of 294 doors will be replaced among all four prisons.
Upstate Correctional has a total of 750 cells. The remaining 48 received new doors in 2008 as part of a settlement with Disability Advocates, Inc. The group had sued NYSDOCCS to get better care for prisoners suffering from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
To carry out the project, Upstate will temporarily move inmates to vacant cells, according to NYSDOCCS, which added that the contractors should be able to replace “several or more doors per day.”
Upstate Correctional Facility is a maximum-security prison that primarily houses inmates for disciplinary confinement. Its capacity is 1,500 inmates, and on Friday the total population was 1,202. The cells are designed as double occupancy, but in cases of inmates with mental health treatment needs, they are single occupancy, according to NYSDOCCS.
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