BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week

POTSDAM -- During a visit to Potsdam Friday Congresswoman Elise Stefanik criticized the Albany’s plan to close prisons, especially in her district.

Gov. Cuomo announced plans to close more prisons in his budget proposal, which has raised concern in Ogdensburg and other areas throughout the North Country where prisons are among the largest employers.

Ogdensburg has already begun efforts to advocate to keep their prisons off the closure list. The topic was one of the major discussions at a recent St. Lawrence County Conference of Mayors meeting in Ogdensburg March 7.

New York State Corrections Officer and Police Benevolent Association president and City Councilor Michael Powers highlighted the issue recently.

“At a time when prison violence is at an all-time high, the Governor and the Legislature should be working with us and our members to find solutions to make our prisons safer. The last thing we need is incarcerated individuals tightly crammed into prisons, creating nothing more than a powder keg of violence.”

Stefanik supported his statement and also said that the prisons are important to the North Country Economy.

She said she works “very closely with our state senators and state assemblymen and women to make sure Albany understands the importance of those facilities in the North Country. It’s not just in this part of the district it’s actually in other parts of my district as well,” she said. “So I don’t support the prison closures and it’s another example, I think, of Gov. Cuomo and the majority in Albany right now being out of touch with what the needs are of the North Country.”