Moriah Shock among latest round of prison closures

MORIAH | Moriah Shock Incarceration Facility in Essex County is now one of six prisons slated for closure in spring 2022. New York announced the closures Nov. 8 as prison and union officials were set to discuss the possibilities. The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision made the announcement midday Monday, saying the prisons would close by March 10. Inmates in those facilities will be moved to other prisons and staff relocated, DOCCS officials said Nov. 8. New York officials said the closures come as cost-saving measures reflecting the state's declining prison population, which now stands at 31,555- a near 57-percent drop in roughly two decades. Roughly 20 prisons have been shuttered in the last decade at an overall annual state savings of roughly $300 million with a reduction of 10,000 beds. The state had until Dec. 31 to announce any possible closures. Facilities now slated for closure are: -Ogdensburg Correctional Facility in St. Lawrence County -Moriah Shock Incarceration Facility in Essex County -The Willard Drug Treatment Campus in Seneca County -Southport Correctional Facility in Chemung County -Downstate Correctional Facility in Dutchess County -Rochester Correctional Facility in Monroe County Further details were expected to come down to staff and officers in the coming days. Word of the pending closure quickly ripped through the small Mineville and Moriah communities as many staff members and families wondered what the future would hold. Shortly after the closure was announced, Moriah Supervisor Tom Scozzafava said he has already been in contact with the DOCCS commissioner and local representatives and is currently trying to arrange a meeting with Gov. Kathy Hochul. "Moriah Shock is a great program that stood on its own merits the last time it was slated for closure. I will do everything that is possible to see that Moriah stays open," he said as he rallied support for the facility. "We have been down this road before, and I will schedule a community meeting as soon as I have more information." This is a developing article and will be updated throughout the day.

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Moriah Shock among latest round of prison closures

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