N.Y. releases Prison Redevelopment recommendations

ALBANY | Gov. Kathy Hochul has released the recommendations of the New York Prison Redevelopment Commission, a 15-member panel convened earlier this year to reimagine closed prisons across New York State for innovative redevelopment. The recommendations were unveiled in Unlocking Opportunity: The Report of the Prison Redevelopment Commission, a 140-page report that includes detailed site analyses of 12 closed prisons and considers redevelopment opportunities for each site to help them better serve the state's economic needs. The immediate future of Moriah Shock includes keeping systems running to prevent deterioration. "As we continue to move New York's economy forward, we are investing in communities across the state, including reimagining closed prison properties as hubs of regional opportunity," Gov. Hochul said in releasing the report Dec. 22. "I am pleased that the Commission has done their due diligence and made these recommendations based on community input to create jobs, save taxpayer money, and bring these buildings to new life as economic engines. At the direction of the Governor, the Prison Redevelopment Commission — comprised of leading experts in the community and economic development, real estate, criminal justice reform, and government sectors — met with state agencies, community stakeholders, and economic development organizations several times over the past six months to address vacant and blighted prison facilities and develop a set of recommendations for creative uses. In addition, a team from Empire State Development visited each closed prison in the portfolio and met with local leaders and community members. Ultimately, the Commission drafted 13 recommendations, including: -Prioritizing the release of two Requests for Proposals and providing support for ESD through the RFP process. -Launching a Prison Redevelopment Fund, a capital grant program that would make funding available to developers and/or localities that acquire sites from the State. -Creating a Municipal Technical Assistance Fund to help communities with closed prisons operate the closed facilities (e.g. infrastructure acquisition and maintenance). -Establishing a community engagement process to support outreach and consensus building in impacted communities. -Prioritizing housing in future prison RFPs or other prison redevelopment efforts. -Investigating renewable energy opportunities and partnerships. The full set of recommendations, as well as the status and timeframe for each proposal, key agencies and partners, and implementation guidelines, is available in the commission's report. New York State is already pursuing a number of actions that will better position sites for reuse, such as: -Removing razor wire at the Ogdensburg, Mt. McGregor, and Willard sites. -Committing to keeping systems running at Willard, Moriah, and Ogdensburg sites to prevent rapid deterioration of the buildings. -Prioritizing the release of RFPs for the Watertown and Downstate sites in 2023. Gov. Hochul convened the Prison Redevelopment Commission in May 2022 after the closure of several prisons in upstate New York. In 2021, the State announced the closure of six under-capacity prisons due to declines in the incarcerated population. Overall, more than 20 prisons have closed across the state in the past 15 years. New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Acting Commissioner Anthony Annucci said, "The Department understands firsthand how valuable redeveloping these properties will be for the communities impacted by prison closures. The Commission's recommendations offer a viable path forward to reimagine these facilities and expand reuse opportunities that will benefit the businesses and residents in the surrounding communities. I applaud the Governor in the creation of the Prison Redevelopment Commission, the Department is proud to contribute to this initiative and looks forward to our continued partnership in developing these properties."

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N.Y. releases Prison Redevelopment recommendations

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