State announces prison closure in Franklin County, reduction at prison in Erie County

This map from the state DOCCS shows the prisons in the GLOW counties and surrounding areas. The “W” shown at the two Albion prisons stands for work release.

The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision announced today a prison will be closing in Franklin County while another in Erie County will be downsized in a consolidation.

The announcement spares any of the prisons in Albion or the GLOW counties.

DOCCS will be closing the Bare Hill Correctional Facility in the North Country on March 11, 2026 while Collins Correctional Facility will be consolidated.

DOCCS said it conducted a thorough review of operations at its 42 correctional facilities. The review was based on a variety of factors: available beds, physical infrastructure, program offerings and whether they can be relocated to other institutions, facility security level, specialized medical and mental health services, locations where there are no Correction Officer reassignment lists, and other facilities in the area to minimize the impact to staff.

All 293 DOCCS staff assigned to Bare Hill will be offered positions at other facilities, and neighboring correctional facilities will be able to safely absorb the incarcerated population into vacant beds at other institutions, DOCCS said. With over 650 vacant staff positions available in correctional facilities located in Franklin, Clinton and Essex counties, the Department will be able to ensure no staff are laid off, mitigating the impact on both

staff, their families and the community., DOCCS said in a press release.

DOCCS also will be consolidating one side of Collins Correctional Facility campus to more efficiently deploy staff and manage the facility by the end of the fiscal year.

The total incarcerated population in state correctional facilities is currently at 33,782 – a reduction of more than 38,900 individuals, or a 53 percent decline in population since the Department’s high of 72,773 in 1999, DOCCS said.

NYSCOPBA opposes DOCCS’ decision saying ‘it will deepen crisis of violence’ in prison system

The New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, the union representing corrections officers, issued this statement:

“These closures will only deepen the crisis of violence, chronic understaffing, and unsustainable working conditions that already plague New York’s prison system.

“Since January 2023, the number of correction officers and sergeants, the frontline staff who perform the vast majority of daily duties has plummeted by 28 percent, while the incarcerated population has increased by 7 percent. Staffing levels are now at their lowest in decades. This is not a system on the brink; it is a system that has already broken.

“Closing additional facilities is not a solution, it is a reckless acceleration of the problem. Consolidating an already growing population into fewer prisons makes it harder to separate violent individuals from the general population, guarantees more assaults on staff and incarcerated people alike, and further fuels the cycle of violence and attrition.

“For our members, these closures mean life-altering choices: uproot entire families and move hours away to keep their jobs or resign and walk away from careers they have dedicated their lives to. The stress on our officers and their families is already immense; announcements like today’s only compound it and drive more experienced staff out the door.

“We have sounded the alarm for years that New York’s correctional system is at a breaking point,” said Chris Summers, NYSCOPBA President. “Closing prisons is a short-sighted Band-Aid on a gaping wound. It does nothing to address historic staffing shortages, does nothing to curb the record levels of violence inside our facilities, and forces loyal public servants to choose between their livelihoods and their families.

“Prisons are safest when they are properly staffed and when the population is spread out enough to manage risk effectively. The real solution is to keep facilities open, aggressively recruit and retain staff, and stop treating correction officers as disposable.”

“It is abundantly clear that if you commit to doing this extremely difficult and dangerous job, don’t expect the State of New York to commit to you. Since 2009, the state has closed 27 prisons, throwing thousands of correction officers and their families into chaos forcing them to sell homes, pull children out of school, and abandon the communities they swore to serve. Year after year, Albany treats our members like line items on a budget instead of the men and women who risk their lives every day to keep these facilities running. They deserve far better than this betrayal from our Governor and State Legislature. NYSCOPBA will continue to fight relentlessly for their interests and for a correctional system that is safe for staff and incarcerated individuals alike.”

Ortt: ‘Closing prisons is exactly the wrong thing to do’

State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt issued this statement:

“After firing 2,000 dedicated, hardworking correction officers earlier this year, Governor Hochul is only further exacerbating the dangerous staffing crisis in our prisons by closing and downsizing more facilities right before the holidays.

“Closing prisons is exactly the wrong thing to do. New York’s hardworking, courageous corrections officers deserve our respect, and should not be used as political pawns.”