After a long period of uncertainty, I want to take a moment to share some exciting news – Otisville Correctional Facility is saved from closure! In her agenda for this year’s budget, the Governor announced plans to shut down an additional five prisons in New York. As I did when a similar threat was advanced in 2019 – and again in 2021 – I fought hard in Albany to ensure Otisville wouldn’t be among the closures.
Otisville Correctional is central to the economic vitality of the village, town, and broader Orange County community, and not only as a major employer. Though this might not spring to mind when any large facility is faced with closure, as the largest water consumer in Otisville, the state prison’s closure would have resulted in an annual increase of local residents’ water bills of over $1,000. That’s an economic blow many of us could not withstand.
The Governor’s approach to announcing multiple prison closures has been a source of deep concern for me—and clearly would have been a raw deal for Otisville. I am gratified Otisville Correctional Facility will continue to serve the state of New York as it always has, and that thefight paid off. I will always ensure Orange County residents are heard up in Albany.
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