Governor Cuomo,

We want the New York Department of Corrections & Community Supervision (NY DOCCS) to reinstate normal visiting schedules in all facilities across the state. NY DOCCS opportunistically leveraged the hardships associated with the COVID-19 situation as a facade to further impose discriminatory and harsh measures on families of incarcerated individuals. 

More specifically, the prison facilities throughout the state of New York are indefinitely implementing non-contact vistist, reducing all visits to a maximum of two hours in length, and capping the number of family members on a visit to two individuals. In addition, NYS DOCCS has cancelled The Family Reunion Program and shut down the children's center.  

With the termination of daily visits, families must now make an appointment to visit their incarcerated loved ones. Prisoners can be keep-locked in their cell and/or issued a ticket if they dare touch or hug their children or other family members. These newly implemented restrictions serve as yet another attack on an already disenfranchised community composed mostly of minority and underprivileged families.  

COVID-19 had already spread throughout all prison facilities in the State of New York while there were no longer any visits allowed. Accordingly, the current spread of the COVID-19 virus had to have been spread by NYS DOCCS staff bringing the pandemic into the prison - it was not the families who spread the virus in the prison.  As a result, families should not be penalized from seeing their loved ones in prison nor discriminated against. 

Further, it appears that New York state may be planning to further leverage COVID-19 to phase out face-to-face visits for "video visits." Even more disturbing, these “video visits” would be provided to families for an excessive fee by for-profit technology companies. 

Prisoner family visits have proven to be one of the most rehabilitative allowances which the NYS DOCCS provides prisoners. The families and friends of those incarcerated in New York State prisons respectfully request that you reinstate normal visitation policies and procedures. Please do not use COVID-19 as a front to further restrict families from visitation or monetarily profit on the captive prison market.