FALLSBURG — The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) announced the closure of Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg as part of the 2024-25 New York State Budget.

The process to close Sullivan Correctional Facility will begin immediately, with the closing taking place by November 6, 2024.

The state budget, recently approved by the New York State Legislature, allows for the closure of up to five correctional facilities. 

According to the DOCCS, they conducted a comprehensive review of its 44 facilities, considering factors like inmate population, infrastructure, program availability, and staffing levels. 

Sullivan Correctional Facility, along with Great Meadow Correctional Facility, was selected for closure based on these criteria.

“Despite new and aggressive recruitment efforts, correctional agencies nationwide are struggling to meet staffing demands, and our department is no exception,” stated DOCCS. “The closure of these facilities will help ensure the safe and efficient operation of the system by utilizing staff more effectively and operating programs in a safe manner.”

Town of Fallsburg Supervisor Michael Bensimon and Sullivan County Legislature Chair Nadia Rajsz issued a joint statement saying, “We are not at all happy about New York State’s decision to shutter Sullivan Correctional Facility, which has been an integral part of our community for four decades and employs hundreds of local citizens. This action by the State will uproot whole families and shift good-paying, middle-class, union jobs out of our region, which will be difficult to replace.”

All employees at Sullivan Correctional Facility will be offered positions at other locations, and no layoffs are anticipated according to officials. DOCCS said they will work closely with unions to facilitate voluntary transfers and priority employment opportunities within the state correctional system or other state agencies.

Bensimon and Rajsz said, “We are also extremely dissatisfied with the lack of official notice from the State that this announcement was coming. In addition to the poor planning and communication from Albany, we very much feel this move to close was undertaken disingenuously and should be delayed for at least a year so that all sides can be heard and considered. Sullivan County and the Town of Fallsburg will be assisting the employees of Sullivan Correctional Facility in any way we can, including by advocating with our State officials, providing needed services to impacted families, and offering the full support of our Center for Workforce Development in keeping our citizens locally employed.”

Sullivan Correctional Facility, a maximum-security institution, currently employs 371 staff members and houses 426 inmates, with a capacity for 560.

Following the closure, DOCCS will work with the Office of General Services and Empire State Development to repurpose the facility. This effort aims to protect state assets and explore new opportunities for the site.

As of July 18, the state’s correctional facilities house 33,419 individuals, a more than 54 percent decline from the department’s peak population in 1999.

Legislature Chair Rajsz added, “As the wife of a retired State corrections officer whose prison was closed in 2011, I know all too well the hardships associated with these kinds of closures.”