Visitation Restored To Some Prisons In New York State

The Empire State has been a hard place to live and work over the last few weeks if you have some connection to the correctional system. Over the last few months in New York State, a few inmates in the state prisons have died, prisoners have taken over at least a correctional facility, and correctional officers around the state have gone on strike.

As you can imagine, these facts have sent most of the state's 42 prisons into a state of chaos. At one point, government officials suspended all inmates' visits from family, friends, or members of the public. The removal of those privileges has contributed to a nearly toxic environment in many of New York's prisons over the last three weeks or so.

Even as the strike has dragged on, conditions in some prisons have improved to the point that officials such as the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision have decided to allow visitation at some correctional facilities.

Starting Saturday, March 8, 2025, NYSDOCCS officials are allowing visitation at nine (9) prisons. These newly restored privileges will limit visits to weekends only, and officials are warning that visits may have restricted time limits depending on the volume of people who try to enter the prisons.

Weekend visits are now allowed at the following prisons:

Bedford Hills Maximum Security Correctional Facility in Westchester County, NY,
Fishkill Medium Security Correctional Facility in Dutchess County, NY,
Green Haven Maximum Security Correctional Facility in Dutchess County, NY,
Hale Creek Medium Security Correctional Facility in Fulton County, NY,
Hudson Medium Security Correctional Facility in Columbia County, NY,
Queensboro Minimum Security Correctional Facility in Queens, NY,
Shawangunk Maximum Security Correctional Facility in Ulster County, NY,
Sing Sing Maximum Security Correctional Facility in Westchester County, NY
Taconic Medium Security Correctional Facility in Westchester County, NY,

The state's remaining 33 prisons, including those in the Buffalo region, remain on visitation lockdown, and NYSDOCCS officials have not said if that will change anytime soon.

These 7 Prisons Are The Most Violent In New York State

New York released a report with the most recent number of violent assaults on inmates in state prisons. There were 134 inmate deaths noted in the report, although it doesn't break down the prisons where each death occurred or who caused them. Here's a look at some of the general violent incidents reported for 2020, which is the most recent data reported by the state. Compared to 10 years ago, inmate assaults have almost doubled. In 2011 there were 666 and in 2020 there were 1,205 reported. These numbers do not include inmate assaults on staff members. Overall, the number of unusual incidents includes things like assaults, deaths, accidents, sexual misconduct, and disruptive behavior. According to the state,

"The number of unusual incidents has increased 132% from 5,980 in 2011 to 13,870 in 2020. These higher incident numbers were largely due to increases in assaults on incarcerated individuals (+81%), assaults on staff (+86%), contraband (+130%), disruptive behavior (+372%), and staff use of weapons (+1,035%)."

In 2020, 1,836 weapons used to cut or stab, including ice picks, razor blades, can lids and shanks were discovered in state prisons around New York.

Gallery Credit: Yasmin Young