ALBANY, New York (WWNY) – The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision says it’s not building a new prison, but a document released by the agency last week suggested otherwise.
The document led to confusion among lawmakers, who found the situation odd given the governor’s past actions to shut down nearly a dozen New York prisons over the years.
“We’ve closed down these massive facilities, right? Already,” said Assemblyman Scott Gray, R-116th District.
“I’ve never seen any bureaucracy spiral so much out of control so quickly as I have corrections in New York state in the last five years,” said Sen. Dan Stec, R-45th District.
Document removed from state website
The document was found on the state’s website. As of Monday, it was no longer there.
DOCCS told 7 News it was a request for architecture and engineering firms to create a study to help modernize New York’s prison system, and the agency took the document down to “refine the scope and strategic focus of this initiative.”
The document contained language stating the study was to eventually create a new, 3,000-bed prison, not construction on existing prisons.
“From what I saw, it was obvious that they’re talking about building a new facility, and I’m sure that went over like a lead brick, and now they’re trying to walk it back,” Stec said.
Lawmakers call for fixing existing prisons first
Gray and Stec said they support fixing up existing prisons, but say the state needs to address problems already in its prisons first.
“We haven’t solved the systemic issues of what we have going on, right? So we don’t- you don’t resolve those issues by adding more beds,” Gray said.
Some New York prisons are more than 200 years old, with weakening infrastructure. DOCCS said it will update the documents on the state’s website at a later date with more appropriate language for what it hopes to accomplish.
Copyright 2026 WWNY. All rights reserved.