SULLIVAN COUNTY — I am incensed at the recent announcement to permanently close the DOCCS Sullivan Correctional Facility and, particularly, the complete lack of notice to all the stakeholders so affected. This facility enjoys a long and proud history integral to the law enforcement community of Sullivan County. This abrupt decision raises more questions than it answers and will undoubtedly upend the public safety, economy, and lives of those that bravely served this County.  

Since taking the helm of the Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office I, in conjunction with our partners at the Sullivan Correctional Facility and the Woodbourne Correctional Facility, have worked tirelessly to streamline the criminal prosecution of violent and dangerous criminal acts that occur within those walls. In doing so I had the pleasure of meeting many of the dedicated and hardworking officers that ensure the public safety of the Sullivan County community. Additionally, being close personal friends with many of these officers I am often told of the alarming accounts of their day-to-day employment in these dangerous facilities. These officers, and the Sullivan County community, most assuredly deserve better. 

For this reason, I wrote to Governor Hochul imploring her to reconsider this decision and invited her to Sullivan County to witness first-hand the importance of the Sullivan Correctional Facility to this community and the pride we extoll therefor.