Great Meadow Corrections permanently closed

COMSTOCK, N.Y. (NEWS10) -Wednesday, November 6, 2024, is the day Great Meadow Correctional Facility closed its gates for good. The Time Served Bar and Grill held a 'funeral' in memory just across the road.

For 17 years, Time Served has been serving local residents and employees of Great Meadow Corrections. Owner, Rich Straub, says his best days are long behind. "What'd we have? 16 of them renting at one time? 16 COs renting. Of course, the price is so right, I only charged them $100 a week."

Mr. and Mrs. Straub are the only two working the kitchen and bar. He doesn't have a plan to keep the business going without customers from corrections. So, they've decided to hold one last party and call it a funeral as the end draws near.

"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," described Straub.

NEWS10's Anthony Krolikowski also spoke with customers at the Fort Ann Super Stop to hear what they thought about the closure. No one wanted to go on camera but some said they were upset to lose local jobs and that the local economy would suffer. Another said they are happy to no longer have a corrections facility in the area.

Although hundreds of employees will be moving from the area or looking for a new job, not all hope is lost for the facility. The property will be repurposed in cooperation with DOCCS, OGS, and ESD. Any former prison must first be officially decommissioned before New York State can pursue potential site redevelopment. Washington Correctional will be watching over the buildings in the meantime.