State has paid $3.5M to North Country businesses so far during National Guard assignment to area prisons
By James M. Odato
This winter’s prolonged North Country prison strike and subsequent emergency demand for guards resulted in beneficial fallout for tourist businesses often starving for guests during the second quarter of the year.
Several North Country hotels and restaurants received a total of $3.5 million in unanticipated extra revenues from the state since March because of the strike at area institutions. The guard walkout led to mass furloughs of correctional officers and the need for backup troops.
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Hundreds of National Guard soldiers, as a result, have been lodging and eating at Adirondack Park-area businesses while on extended prison staffing assignment.
The hotels and restaurants, typically praying for guests during the slower period between ski and summer seasons, filled beds and boxed meals for the soldiers through late winter and spring with a couple of more seasons of duty ahead.
The National Guard prison mission is expected to last through April 2026, a leader of the correctional officer union said.
The biggest beneficiary in the region has been the owners of VOCO, the newest hotel in Saranac Lake, which had been struggling financially. The state has paid the hotel more than $1.3 million for lodging troops and another $92,000 to feed them since early April, according to data from the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs.
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The VOCO hotel, on Lake Flower, had been named the Saranac Waterfront Lodge until it was taken over by its lenders and purchased by Branch Hospitality Group last summer. Branch also received a bonus in business at its Malone hotel, the Holiday Inn Express, from National Guard stays. It was paid a total of $33,000 during March, just after the three-week correctional guard walk-out.
hotel data by Melissa HartImpacts of prison strike continues to be felt
Gov. Kathy Hochul fired about 2,000 prison personnel for refusing to return to work during the unsanctioned strike. National Guard troops were called in to staff the prisons.
About 3,000 National Guard soldiers statewide, volunteers since April, are being paid their rank wages, housing stipends and special compensation of $2,000 every two weeks to continue their work as guards. Hundreds of them are stationed at North Country prisons.
Meanwhile, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision is attempting to boost recruiting. Recent recruit classes have graduated 123 and another 120 are in school now taking the eight-week course, according to Melissa Miles, who heads the Albany training academy.
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Some fired prison workers are getting offered their jobs back in settlements, said Matt Keough, executive director of the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association. He is unsure of the number of guards who will ultimately return to work.
DOCCS said it could not reveal the number of firings at North Country prisons.
However, 417 National Guard soldiers have been reporting for work at those correctional facilities in recent months and troops will continue to staff the prisons without a specific end date, said Eric Durr, a spokesman for the state.
The state budget allocates funds for about 15,000 correction officers and DOCCS is recruiting to fill approximately 4,500 openings, a DOCCS official said. The department is inviting 18-year-olds and out-of-state residents to apply.
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“As a result of these recruitment efforts, DOCCS has seen a 129% increase in individuals taking the CO exam,” said Nicole March, a public information officer.
Long-term stays in North Country hotels
A total of 53 troops have stayed at the 93-room VOCO since April 8. The hotel, in Essex County, charged a higher rate than competitors in Franklin County, such as the Hotel Saranac.
The Hotel Saranac has filled about a third of its rooms with soldiers.
Since March 12, the hotel provided for 44 troops. The state paid $388,850 for lodging and another $62,700 for catering.
The government rate for hotels in Franklin County is $110 daily and $144 to $238 a day in Essex County.
Hotel Saranac Operator Fred Roedel said the state paid for 35 rooms during the period and the business has been welcome.
Another enterprise boosted in the Adirondacks, Little Italy in Saranac Lake, served $44,250 in pizza and other meals to troops during the period. Lately, the shop has provided 25 lunches and 55 dinners a day.
“This has been a big help to us during mud season, a slow season for the whole area,” said Manny Arrieta, Little Italy’s part-owner. The state contract for his restaurant and some of the other businesses ended June 21 and they are awaiting extensions.
Photo at top: Michael Doran, president of Branch Hospitality Group, prepares for taking over Saranac Waterfront Lodge. Explorer file photo by Chloe Bennett
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