If Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal involving state prison closures on forest preserve lands gains traction this year, New York voters could decide the fate of three Adirondack-area facilities through a 2027 constitutional amendment.
Tucked in Hochul’s State of the State plan released last week, the Democratic governor proposed removing three closed prisons from the constitutionally protected forest preserve. The removal would allow the state to sell or lease the sites for private development.
The prisons include the former Mount McGregor Correctional Facility in Saratoga County, Camp Gabriels Correctional Facility in Franklin County and Moriah Shock Incarceration Facility in Essex County.
Camp Gabriels has been shuttered the longest–since 2009–and is perhaps in the worst shape.
State Sen. Dan Stec and predecessor Betty Little, both Republicans from Queensbury, have tried multiple times to pass constitutional amendments removing the sprawling 92-acre complex from the forest preserve. The state Assembly never passed the legislation.
Mount McGregor’s 53-acre complex closed in 2014. It is not within the Adirondack Park proper, but because it is on state-owned lands in a forest preserve county, it is considered on forest preserve lands.
The state most recently closed Moriah Shock in 2022. It is a 60-acre complex.
Hochul called the dormant prisons “eyesores,” “environmental hazards” and “lost opportunities,” in her State of the State book.
“To address this, Governor Hochul will propose a constitutional amendment to return these underutilized sites to productive and critically needed uses, such as for housing development, while also securing a win for conservation,” the book reads. “By authorizing the redevelopment of these specific locations, Governor Hochul will at the same time propose adding even more land into the Forest Preserve.”
The Mount McGregor state prison is one of three closed facilities which could be repurposed. Photo courtesy of Protect the Adirondacks.
Another push for an amendment
As of Monday it was unclear how the governor would propose the amendment. Hochul is expected to present her executive budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year on Tuesday. A Hochul spokesperson said more details would be available this week.
However it is proposed, the governor and legislators will need to pass an amendment this year in order to make the earliest possible Election Day ballot in November 2027. Constitutional amendments must pass two successive state Legislatures before voters weigh in.
The Hochul administration had made a last-ditch effort at the end of the 2024 legislative session to free the closed prisons’ land from the constitution and make the November 2025 ballot. There were rumors of a “governor’s program bill,” but lawmakers and park advocates said New York City congestion pricing issues left no room for the Adirondack conundrum.
Should an amendment pass this session and next, it would be the second constitutional amendment to Article 14, also known as the “forever wild” clause, since last year. Voters narrowly passed an amendment in November that adds 2,500 acres to the forest preserve in exchange for removing the Olympic Regional Development Authority’s sports complex in Essex County.
Voters have amended this part of the state constitution 16 times since 1941.
Moriah Shock. Photo by Nancie Battaglia
Bipartisan support from Adirondack representatives
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle representing Adirondack Park constituents were pleased that the governor planned to address the closed prisons, though they wanted more details on packaging the three together.
New state Assemblymember Michael Cashman, a Democrat from Plattsburgh, is focused on Camp Gabriels’ future. Stec also highlighted Camp Gabriels in a news release.
“The devil is always in the details with proposals like this,” Cashman said. “These properties have languished for far too long and communities need them to be a part of a larger economic development plan.”
State Assemblymember Matthew Simpson, a Republican from Lake George and the ranking minority member on the Environmental Conservation Committee, said he will make his voice heard and advocate for an amendment.
Environmental organizations including Protect the Adirondacks and the Adirondack Council, also expressed support of an amendment, especially the prospect of adding acreage to the already approximately 2.7 million-acre Adirondack forest preserve in exchange for the prisons.
Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Washington County. Photo by Ed Burke
How to handle other closed prisons in forest preserve counties?
Lawmakers and environmental groups were unsure how the Hochul administration may address three other closed prisons in forest preserve counties–Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Washington County, soon-to-be-closed Bare Hill Correctional Facility in Franklin County and Sullivan Correctional Facility in Sullivan County in the Catskill Park.
They did not expect or promote the idea of adding those facilities to Hochul’s current proposal. Simpson said Great Meadow will be a particular challenge to address considering its water and wastewater infrastructure are tied to Washington County Correctional Facility, which remains open.
Claudia Braymer, executive director of Protect the Adirondacks, said survey work was also needed at Great Meadow. With a larger portion of vacant land making up that prison, Braymer said, Protect and others may want to see some of that acreage remain forest preserve lands.