MALONE, N.Y. (WCAX) – Another prison is set for closure in northern New York. After reviewing all 44 state facilities, state officials announced Tuesday that the Bare Hill Correctional in Malone will be shuttered come March.
Come this spring, almost 300 correction workers, as well as the inmates, will say goodbye to Bare Hill Correctional Facility in Malone, adding the North Country facility to the latest list of prisons that have been closed by the state.
“We worked with them to open these facilities, and now it feels like the state is turning their back on us and closing one of the facilities that we took when nobody wanted it in their backyard,” said Malone Mayor Andrea Dumas.
Anger, frustration, and confusion filled Malone after the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said they would close the nearly 40-year-old Bare Hill Correctional Facility.
“Lot of upset people, you know, wondering the fear of what I am doing three, four months from now, where am I going to be working,” said John Roberts with the New York Corrections Officer Union.
There are roughly 650 job openings at other facilities in Franklin, Clinton, and Essex counties where the workers could go. However, some nearby businesses are concerned about the impact.
“We are already in a somewhat of an economically depressed area. So, you know, when things like this happen, it is only concerning to just think about the ripple effect for the future,” said Chris Beebe, owner of the Pines Tap & Table, a local restaurant.
While DOCCS says they will continue to keep the lights on at Bare Hill, Dumas says it’ll still take nearly $243,000 out of their roughly $8 million budget.
“Closing a facility impacts the people that are working the facility, impacts the businesses, the economics of our community, but it is also going to impact the village’s budget,” Dumas said.
Dumas says DOCCS and the village will have conversations regarding who will pay for Bare Hill’s utilities while it’s closed.
The state has suffered from a prison staffing crisis that was exacerbated by a wildcat strike this past spring. As of September, data show there were roughly 11,300 corrections officers at state prisons. In 2024, that number was just over 14,000.
In statements, local state representatives called the closure ill-considered. “This decision is wrong for our worker, wrong for our families. and wrong for the North Country,” said newly elected state Assemblyman Michael Cashman, D-Plattsburgh Town. “I remain unconvinced that this closure makes anyone safer. In fact, it creates new vulnerabilities at a time when folks across New York are already struggling under the weight of the affordability crisis.”
“These men and women are vital parts of our community, and it’s critically important that they remain here,” said Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury.
In addition to Bare Hill, the state will be consolidating part of the Collins Correctional Facility campus in the town of Collins “to more efficiently deploy staff.”
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