Sunmount Shrinks by Half and Five Prisons Close

By October 2018, the NYS prison in Ray Brook will house only 16-17yo offenders.  Current capacity is 566 but may change.  These prisoners will be counted in the census, boosting the numbers in that age group for Essex County.  

The number of residents will shrink from 161 to 105.  Currently 900 people work there.  NYS has made no statements about the workforce.

Chateaugay and Mt McGregor will close affecting some 111 jobs as of July 26. The NYS prison population peaked in 1999 at 71,600 and is now 54,200.  Prisoners on drug charges have declined from 24,000 in 1996 to 6,700 now.  Two other regional prisons have closed already.

The original news story is here.
An update on the closures as of Feb 2014 is here.

NCPR has been running a long-term investigation of the NY State prison system, looking at from the beginning of the Rockefeller drug laws up to today and its impact on both the prisoners and the regions economy.  This is 'must read' material to learn how we got to this point and where we go from here.

Read about the project here.

The Federal budget sequester has resulted in unexpected layoffs in Ray Brook.  It is the only Federal prison in the Park.

The news story is here.