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Legislators call for pause on Gowanda prison closing

Members of the New York State Senate and Assembly on Friday called for Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to pause the closure of the Gowanda Correctional facility.

State Sens. George Borrello and Patrick Gallivan, and Assemblyman Joseph Giglio, stated that requests for an accounting of the claimed $89 million savings that will result from the closure of Gowanda, as well as the Watertown and Clinton Correctional facilities, have gone unanswered.

The closures were announced on Dec. 21 under an expedited 90-day timeline that was authorized in the last state budget. Typically, there is a one-year notification requirement.

Borrello noted that compounding the question of cost savings is the fact that there are reports of major capital investments in Gowanda that are slated to go forward, even though closure is imminent.

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