Fallout from prison strikes continues to cost state

The state is continuing to spend more than $100 million a month to operate its prisons after an illegal strike by corrections officers, according to state Budget Director Blake Washington.

In response to thousands of prison guards walking off the job in February, Gov. Kathy Hochul mobilized more than 6,000 members of the state’s National Guard and utilized other law enforcement staff to keep the correctional facilities running. The majority of striking guards returned to work in early March, but more than 2,000 guards were terminated for not returning to their posts after negotiations with the Hochul administration.

“The folks that were ultimately terminated have left a hole and … the National Guard has stepped up to lend a hand, and they’re in our correctional facilities now, and that’s just a great cost,” Washington told The Capitol Pressroom on Monday. “It comes at no small cost of the State of New York, between the National Guard and a whole host of other items.”

“We’re spending well over $100 million per month … post strike, just to make sure that we have a safe and secure correctional system,” he added.

In amendments to the executive budget proposal released in February, the governor proposed statutory language giving her the ability to close additional prisons in New York. Washington said that item is still on the table, as his team grapples with the additional costs to run the prison system and the reform issues that have been raised in recent months.

The full interview will be available on Tuesday.