Gowanda Correctional Facility is one of three state prisons now scheduled for closure. Author: Jackie Roberts, WGRZ Staff Published: 7:50 PM EST December 22, 2020 Updated: 8:13 PM EST December 22, 2020
GOWANDA, N.Y. On Tuesday, local and state leaders alongside union representatives gathered outside the Gowanda Correctional Facility, calling on the governor to reverse his decision to close it in 90 days.
The people who spoke out against the decision told reporters the closure will have a negative impact on the community and correctional system, on top of forcing families to uproot and relocate during what s already an extremely difficult time. My thoughts and prayers are with the hard-working people that found out four days before Christmas that life as they know it could potentially be changed. Governor, please think about your decision, and we implore you to reverse it, said Gowanda Mayor David Smith.
Tuesday, December 22, 2020 - 6:14 am
North Country Sen. Patty Ritchie slammed Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to close a north Country prison.
The Watertown Correctional Facility will close at the end of March, Cuomo announced Monday.
Prisons in Ogdensburg and Gouverneur are expected to remain open.
Sen. Ritchie released a statement voicing her displeasure with the decision. It is as follows:
“I find it unacceptable and utterly despicable that the Governor would announce just four days before Christmas that Watertown Correctional Facility will close. Simply put, this is a slap in the face to the dedicated men and women who work in these facilities, as well as their families.Every day, the Governor has gone on TV, pontificating about how people are suffering due to this unprecedented pandemic. With this announcement, he’s kicking them when they re down and only adding to the stress and anguish so many people have been experiencing for almost a year now. O
3 Upstate NY prisons to close in early 2021; nearly 1,000 jobs affected
Updated Dec 22, 2020;
Posted Dec 22, 2020
FILE - In this June 15, 2015, file photo, corrections officers walk next to a fence covered in razor wire as they leave work at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y.AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File
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Three prisons in Upstate New York will close in early 2021, the state announced Monday.
The New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said the Gowanda and Watertown correctional facilities, both medium-security prisons, and the Clinton Annex, which is part of the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, will close in the coming weeks. Inmates will be moved the state’s other 49 correctional facilities and nearly 1,000 jobs will be affected.
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North Country representatives are criticizing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s decision to close three state prisons, including one in Dannemora and another in Watertown.
Cuomo announced plans to close the Gowanda and Watertown Correctional facilities and the Clinton Annex in 90 days. The Annex is part of the larger Clinton Correctional facility. 115th District Democratic state Assemblyman D. Billy Jones, a former corrections officer, calls the move a kick in the gut to the region. “I’m not happy with this decision and to do this to these employees and to these families right now I’m just disgusted by it.”
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