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St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency says prisons crucial to local economy

Posted 4/16/19

OGDENSBURG -- At a recent meeting of the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency, members voted to pass a resolution "that emphasizes the agency’s strong support for the continued …

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St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency says prisons crucial to local economy

Posted

OGDENSBURG -- At a recent meeting of the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency, members voted to pass a resolution "that emphasizes the agency’s strong support for the continued operation of the Gouverneur, Ogdensburg and Riverview Correctional Facilities and urged New York state not to include these facilities as part of any correctional facility closure plans," according to a statement from the IDA.

The state included the closure of two prisons in the 2019 budget, but details as to which prisons will close are not yet known.

As a candidate running for governor, Andrew M. Cuomo told the Ogdensburg Journal he will make sure that Ogdensburg’s prisons will not go on any future closure lists, the statement said.

St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency Chief Executive Officer Patrick J. Kelly in prepared remarks said “St. Lawrence County truly has a unique history attracting, welcoming and supporting these facilities. That history has been very good for the County, and it has been very good for New York State.”

Kelly's prepared statement also said “the reality is these facilities have become part of the economic and community landscape and replacing them would be far more difficult here than in the other areas of the State which have higher real estate values and more robust commercial development markets. We already have a half million square feet of vacant buildings at the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center, we certainly do not need any more in the County.”

The Industrial Development Agency's release makes several arguments for keeping open the facilities in St. Lawrence County:

• The county "aggressively attracted and welcomed" the correctional facilities at a time when New York State was "struggling to find communities willing to take such facilities"

• The facilities continue to receive "tremendous support" from the local communities in the county

• The operation of the facilities in Gouverneur and Ogdensburg has "been positive not just for the local communities, but also for New York State"

• The loss of jobs and payroll at any one of the State Correctional Facilities in St. Lawrence County would be a "devastating economic blow to what is already one of the most economically distressed areas of New York State"

• There are already 500,000 square feet of vacant state-owned buildings in St. Lawrence County which were formerly part of the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center

• These buildings "show how hard it is to redevelop closed State facilities in this area while facilities in more expensive areas of the State have historically been much easier to redevelop."