GABRIELS, N.Y. (WCAX) – More than a decade after its closure by the state of New York, the buildings at the former state prison Camp Gabriels continue to waste away as New York state lawmakers once again call for a constitutional amendment that would allow the sale and redevelopment of the property.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese buildings aren\u2019t fine wine, they aren\u2019t getting better with age,\u201d said state Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury.<\/p>\n
Built in 1897, the nearly 100-acre property was originally a tuberculosis retreat until the 1960s, before it was sold to Paul Smith\u2019s College and then, eventually, to the state in 1980.<\/p>\n
Since its closure in 2009, the buildings and property have steadily decayed, with pieces of paint hanging from the walls, collapsed floors and broken glass littering the property.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy concern is that this is just one prison, there are other prisons in the Adirondacks and outside the Adirondacks that have been closed and abandoned,\u201d Stec said.<\/p>\n
For the past six years, Stec has tried to pass legislation that would allow for Camp Gabriels to finally be sold and repurposed.<\/p>\n
Because it is in the forest preserve, it can only be used for a state purpose. It will take a change in the state constitution to overcome that.<\/p>\n
Stec, as well as North Country Democratic lawmakers — current and past — have pushed for that change. \u201cI personally would love to see it prioritized for workforce housing and making sure that old infrastructure for water and wastewater infrastructure doesn\u2019t go to waste,\u201d said Assemblyman Michael Cashman, D-Plattsburgh Town. <\/p>\n
Despite clearing the state Senate in the last legislative session, the proposed amendment continues to hit snags in the Assembly.<\/p>\n
Stec\u2019s proposal would ask voters to approve the sale and then use that money to buy land to go back into the forest preserve, a one-for-one.<\/p>\n
Environmental groups, like Protect the Adirondacks, said they\u2019d like to see Camp Gabriels join two other former state prisons on the amendment and instead put 2,500 acres back into the forest preserve.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, a one-to-one is not enough to convince first the Legislature and then the people of the state of New York that there is enough benefit to let this land come out of the forest preserve and we are going to get enough coming back in,\u201d said the group\u2019s Claudia Braymer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not opposed to a three-prison amendment either, or a negotiation to say we want something other than dollar for dollar. The environmental groups want something more, and I understand that. I don\u2019t want to get too crazy, but let\u2019s put together something we can put to the voters,\u201d Stec said.<\/p>\n
Before voters can decide on any potential amendment, a deal must pass the Legislature in two consecutive sessions. The earliest possible date it could appear as a ballot question is 2029.<\/p>\n
Until then, Camp Gabriels will continue to fade away, reclaimed by the Adirondacks.<\/p>\n
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