New York State is moving forward with major changes in its prison system. Bare Hill Correctional Facility in Franklin County is set to close on March 11, 2026, while the Collins Correctional Facility campus will undergo partial consolidation to better manage staff and operations.
Since 2009, New York has closed 27 prisons, according to the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), the union representing correction officers. The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) oversees all state prisons.
DOCCS said all 293 staff at Bare Hill will be offered positions at other facilities, and nearby prisons can safely absorb the incarcerated population. At Collins, one side of the campus will be consolidated, with the transition expected to be complete by the end of the fiscal year.
Even after the changes, both facilities will be maintained in a state of readiness. Utilities such as heat, water, electricity, and sewage will remain active, and maintenance staff will continue to care for the infrastructure.
These moves are part of what the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision says are ongoing efforts to consolidate services, improve efficiency, and support staff while ensuring facilities remain operational if needed.
NYSCOPBA has called on Governor Kathy Hochul and the Legislature to immediately halt these closures, further invest in aggressive recruitment and retention initiatives, and commit to keeping facilities open with appropriate staffing levels.
“We have sounded the alarm for years that New York’s correctional system is at a breaking point,” said Chris Summers, NYSCOPBA President. “Closing prisons is a short-sighted Band-Aid on a gaping wound. It does nothing to address historic staffing shortages, does nothing to curb the record levels of violence inside our facilities, and forces loyal public servants to choose between their livelihoods and their families. Prisons are safest when they are properly staffed and when the population is spread out enough to manage risk effectively. The real solution is to keep facilities open, aggressively recruit and retain staff, and stop treating correction officers as disposable.”
Summers continued: “It is abundantly clear that if you commit to doing this extremely difficult and dangerous job, don’t expect the State of New York to commit to you. Since 2009, the state has closed 27 prisons, throwing thousands of correction officers and their families into chaos, forcing them to sell homes, pull children out of school, and abandon the communities they swore to serve. Year after year, Albany treats our members like line items on a budget instead of the men and women who risk their lives every day to keep these facilities running. They deserve far better than this betrayal from our Governor and State Legislature. NYSCOPBA will continue to fight relentlessly for their interests and for a correctional system that is safe for staff and incarcerated individuals alike.”
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