OCF Rally Attendees: "Save Our Prison!"

OGDENSBURG - The message delivered Friday afternoon in front of Ogdensburg City Hall was loud and clear.

"Let's let the governor hear our rally cry - No more closures! Save our prison!" Ogdensburg Mayor William D. Nelson yelled into the microphone, leading the crowd of more than 2,000 supporters of Ogdensburg Correctional Facility at a rally opposing its proposed closure by Gov. David A. Paterson.

Mr. Nelson said the rally was about the "survival" of Ogdensburg and the surrounding communities.

"Today's rally is about the 287 OCF employees and their families. It's also about the hundreds of our North Country residents that are working downstate waiting to come back home so they can be with their families," the mayor said.

"Today's rally is also about the hundreds of others in our community that will be impacted by this closure. It's about our businesses that will be affected, being forced to downsize their work force or far worse, forced to close," he said.

Mr. Nelson recalled when Gov. Paterson visited Massena last fall and told area officials he realized how "fragile" the economy was and that he would make it a priority to help. Instead, the governor announced a proposal to close four prisons, all north of the Thruway, including OCF, according to the mayor.

"So my message to Governor Paterson is this... if this is the kind of help you are going to give us for our economy, no thanks," Mr. Nelson said. "I don't have all the answers for Albany's problems, but I know one thing - Albany is the problem, not Ogdensburg."

City councilor Michael B. Powers, a members of the OCF Task Force and a correctional officer himself, was impressed with the number of people on Ford Street waving signs and voicing their support.

"This is exactly what it takes to send a message," Mr. Powers said. "This will send a very loud and clear message."

Mr. Powers said that there were New York State Correctional Officer and Police Benevolent Association members from Lyon Mountain, Moriah Shock and Butler Correctional Facility, all prisons slated to close, in attendance at the rally to show their support.

He said that correctional officers are the "forgotten cops."

"We walk the beat that nobody talks about. We walk the toughest beat in American law enforcement," he said to a loud cheer, "I don't know what Commissioner [Brian] Fischer was thinking when he drew the line in the sand. He certainly won't penetrate this one."

The statement made by Chad J. Stickney, OCF local sector chief for NYSCOPBA, was simple.

"I am Chad Stickney and I am opposed to any prison closures anywhere," he said as his son, Timmy, stood beside him.

Randy Page, NYSCOPBA Northern Region vice president, said there are 5,871 inmates across the state being double-bunked, a measure to accommodate a growing inmate population in the late 1990s.

"If the commissioner would complete the right sizing of all correctional facilities and remove all top bunks there would not be enough empty beds to accommodate the current level of inmate population. He certainly would not be able to close any correctional facilities at this time," Mr. Page said.

Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, D-Theresa, also had harsh words for DOCS Commissioner Fischer, was concerned with double-bunking and said she felt that DOCS "manipulates information to seduce downstate into thinking this is the right decision."

"I toured every one of the facilities in the Watertown Hub. Every single one of those is double-bunked and it's only going to get worse," she said.

Mrs. Russell said she has been approached by her colleagues in the Assembly who ask her what they can do.

She said she told them "You need to keep Ogdensburg Correctional Facility open."

Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, said that "we're not going to stand idly by" and let the prison close.

"We're in this for the long haul and we're going to make damn sure that none of these facilities will close," he said.

Among the more than 2,000 supporters outside of city hall was Andy Fisher, a 2009 Ogdensburg Free Academy graduate who is now a student at St. Lawrence University.

"It's an awesome turnout, it's amazing to see that a community can come together like this," he said. His father, Steve, owns Fish'er Chips, Ford Street.

"OCF is such a big part of the community, it would definitely hurt local businesses, but it would also hurt families. I have an aunt and an uncle who work there and if OCF closes I won't get to see them," he said.

Rally participant Stuart M. Rishe, owner of Rishe's Hardwood Flooring, said that he wasn't surprised by the turnout.

"In times of crisis this community and surrounding communities always come together and support each other," Mr. Rishe said. The prison closure would also impact his business that has operated in the city for 18 years.

"OCF's closure means tremendous damage to the entire area from businesses and schools to friends and families," he said.

Jimmy Lawton contributed to this report.