UPDATE: Sullivan County Legislature Chair Nadia Rajsz and Town of Fallsburg Supervisor Michael Bensimon jointly issued the following statement July 19:
“We are not at all happy about New York State’s decision to shutter Sullivan Correctional Facility, which has been an integral part of our community for four decades and employs hundreds of local citizens. This action by the State will uproot whole families and shift good-paying, middle-class, union jobs out of our region, which will be difficult to replace.
We are also extremely dissatisfied with the lack of official notice from the State that this announcement was coming. In addition to the poor planning and communication from Albany, we very much feel this move to close was undertaken disingenuously and should be delayed for at least a year so that all sides can be heard and considered.
Sullivan County and the Town of Fallsburg will be assisting the employees of Sullivan Correctional Facility in any way we can, including by advocating with our State officials, providing needed services to impacted families, and offering the full support of our Center for Workforce Development in keeping our citizens locally employed.”
Added Legislature Chair Rajsz: “As the wife of a retired State corrections officer whose prison was closed in 2011, I know all too well the hardships associated with these kinds of closures. I feel the pain and frustration of every displaced employee in a very personal way, and I will stand by them as this process unfolds.”
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) announced two state correctional facilities will be closed later this year, including the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Sullivan County.
Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Washington County will also close. The closures will take effect on November 6, 2024.
DOCCS reviewed its 44 correctional facilities, considering factors such as diminished inmate populations, physical infrastructure, program offerings, security levels, specialized medical and mental health services, and the availability of other facilities to minimize staff impact. The review also aimed to reduce the effect on communities previously affected by closures.
“The decision to close these facilities was a difficult one for all involved. Across the country, correctional agencies continue to struggle to meet staffing demands, and the Department is no exception, despite new and aggressive recruitment efforts. The closure of the two facilities will help ensure the safe and efficient operation of the system by utilizing staff more effectively, and operating programs in a safe manner. The decision to close only two facilities was purposefully made to minimize the effect on staff, and at the same time attempt to close the gap on staffing shortages in our correctional facilities,” the DOCCS said in a statement.
To minimize the impact on staff, DOCCS said it will offer all employees positions at other facilities. The department emphasized that no layoffs are anticipated and that the incarcerated population will be absorbed into vacant beds at other institutions.
As of July 18, 2024, the state’s prison population stands at 33,419, a reduction of more than 54 percent from a high of 72,773 in 1999.
DOCCS said they will work with various bargaining units to provide staff with opportunities for voluntary transfers and priority employment at other state facilities or agencies. The department will also work with the Office of General Services and Empire State Development to repurpose the closed facilities.
The Great Meadow Correctional Facility currently employs 559 staff and houses 480 inmates, while the Sullivan Correctional Facility has 371 staff and 426 inmates. Both are maximum-security institutions.
Image by Medic18, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=76305510