O'Mara to welcome local Monterey Shock supporters at Albany protest rally today

Elmira, N.Y., March 10—State Senator Tom O’Mara will meet local Monterey Shock supporters traveling by bus from the Southern Tier to Albany today for a Capitol rally to protest Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to shut down several correctional facilities this year, including the Monterey Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility in Schuyler County.

The local bus caravan is being sponsored by the New York State Correctional Officers Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA). According to local NYSCOPBA representatives, approximately 100 local Monterey supporters are scheduled to leave on two buses from the Wegman’s Plaza in Elmira at 7:00 a.m.  

The rally in Albany begins at 11:30 a.m. in the West Capitol Park.  

O’Mara will meet local supporters at the Capitol and address the rally.

“We’re not giving up the fight to save Monterey Shock.  Tomorrow gives us an opportunity to bring the fight directly to Albany and we’ll be voicing our support for saving these local jobs, these vital local community services and all of Monterey’s other positive impacts locally. I hope the Cuomo administration hears us.  If they want to reduce recidivism, keep Monterey open.  If they want to save state and local taxpayer dollars, keep Monterey open. If they care about local jobs and local community services, keep Monterey open.  We need to keep making the case to Governor Cuomo that there are more effective ways to achieve the short- and long-term goals we share without closing a high-quality, community-oriented and cost-effective facility like Monterey.”

Since last July when the Cuomo administration first announced it closure plans, O’Mara and other local leaders have been critical of the decision to shut down Monterey Shock.  They’ve highlighted the loss of local jobs and other local economic consequences that will result from the facility’s closing, as well as Monterey’s record of fiscal and correctional services success – a record which was praised by the Cuomo administration itself in September 2012 as part of the facility’s 25th Anniversary celebration.  

Monterey was New York’s first shock facility.