The doors slammed shut one final time on Wednesday.
Great Meadow Correctional facility officially shut down Wednesday. The maximum security prison located in Comstock, Washington County had been operating since 1911. It had the capacity to hold approximately 1,600 prisoners and employed close to 600 people, making it one of the largest employers in Washington County.
Many businesses in the area are worried what the future holds since workers at the facility are either being transferred to other prisons, while others have to search for new jobs. News 10 stopped by the 'Time Served Bar & Grill' across the street. The owner, Rich Straub says many customers at his restaurant are prison employees. On Wednesday, he held one last party that he dubbed a 'funeral'.
It’s a funeral because that’s what it’s gonna feel like to all these COs that are working over there. It’s not a celebration of life. Its… This is over for them.
Although the prison is closed, there is hope the building and the land can be repurposed. That's up to the New York State Department of Corrections, Office of General Services and Empire State Development.
