Ritchie Asking State To Indicate OCF Reuse Plans

OGDENSBURG - Before the state Legislature acts on a proposal to close Ogdensburg Correctional Facility, St. Lawrence County Clerk Patricia A. Ritchie wants state officials to publicly explain how they plan to re-use the facility as required by law.

Mrs. Ritchie has sent a letter to state Department of Correctional Services Commissioner Brian Fischer, urging him to complete a legally required prison re-use study so that lawmakers and the public will have a better picture of the site's future, the potential for replacing its 287 jobs and the long-term impact of the closing on the broader local community.

"Employees, taxpayers, families and area businesses need assurance that the state has fully and carefully considered the implications of its decision beyond the brief justifications from the department and the governor's office, contained in one-page fact sheets and press statements," Mrs. Ritchie wrote in her letter.

The proposal has caused "considerable anxiety among employees, their families, officials and concerned neighbors here in Northern New York. The loss of another major employer would be a substantial blow in a region already struggling with a jobless rate that is consistently among the worst in the state, notwithstanding your spokesman's not-so-convincing comments that unspecified positions will be available for all affected staff."

State Correction Law 79-b requires the commissioner to study and issue a report on the potential re-use of a prison facility prior to closing. However, in the case of three prisons closed last year - Camp Gabriels, Camp Mt. McGregor and Camp Pharsalia - the Senate and Assembly voted to waive that requirement, and allowed the commissioner to issue his report months after the facilities were shut down.

The report found no use for the now-closed facilities.

"That's hardly an economic development scheme and, frankly, does not come close to complying with the spirit of section 79-b that is supposed to protect communities from upheaval in the wake of the state's sudden withdrawal," Mrs. Ritchie wrote.

"The fact is Albany didn't have a plan for those facilities, and it doesn't have one for OCF," she said. "We don't need another abandoned complex in place of what was a major employer for our region."

Mrs. Ritchie said she hoped that completing the study would make state officials realize that the proposal to close OCF was short-sighted and misguided, particularly in light of the region's weak economy and already high jobless rate.