State corrections officials on Friday announced two prisons will close in Manhattan and Livingston County within the next 90 days following an official review and authorization in the newly adopted state budget.
Livingston Correctional Facility in Livingston County and Lincoln Correctional Facility in New York City will both close, which currently house a combined 939 inmates. Lincoln, the smaller facility, has a staff of 113 people. Livingston Correctional Facility employs 327 people.
The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in a statement said those workers would be transitioned to different jobs, facilities or other state agencies.
Lawmakers and Cuomo agreed to the prison closures amid a decline in the overall inmate population.
“These closures are a result of the Governor’s successful progressive criminal justice reforms that have led to a historic decrease in crime, including both violent and property offenses, as well as individuals incarcerated in New York State prisons,” said DOCCS spokesman Thomas Mailey.
“In 2017, reported crime reached an all-time low since statewide reporting began in 1975. Preliminary data for 2018 shows that crime continued to decline for the sixth consecutive year and will mark yet another historic low. This has cemented New York’s position as the safest large state in the nation.”
The population at state prisons in the last 20 years has decreased by more than 26,000 inmates, a 35.8 percent drop.
The union that represents corrections officers earlier this year blasted the plan to close prisons, saying the state should instead focus on staffing levels, especially in facilities that house violent inmates.