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Newspaper
Syracuse Herald Journal
Location
Syracuse, New York, United States of America
Date
Jan 11, 1983
Page
4
The fown by Steven N. Cohn presents a brief UPI report likely editing a town or event. The piece specifies names and places, with no graphic detail. It emphasizes a local focus and a concise, straightforward news tone.
In Ossining New York locals have long endured the prison’s influence as Sing Sing, renamed Ossining in 1901, looms over daily life. A 53 hour hostage siege at Cell Block B underscored the town’s uneasy relationship with the facility and persistent media attention.
Governor Mario Cuomo announced multiple investigations by state police and prison staff would begin, and he would meet with the prison superintendent to discuss inmates demands. He praised officials for resolving the crisis with no serious injuries and noted defenders of the 1971 Attica riot would be avoided, while inmates issued 10 conditions and sought publicized assurances against retaliation.
ABC journalist Bob Berkowitz described the first four hostages as visibly hostile to their bosses, a sign of Stockholm Syndrome, while later releases appeared calmer. He spent over 28 hours inside Cell Block B during the talks and noted orderly negotiations with occasional eruptions from inmates, amid factions including Puerto Ricans blacks and neo Nazis.
Amid long standing talk on prison crowding New York officials struggle to add capacity. A 1981 $500 million bond to build over 4000 cells failed and Gov Cuomo faces local backlash over housing convicts. State inmates exceed design capacity by about 3500 with cost of new cells pegged at 100000 each.
The Ossining Correctional Facility inmates present a list of ten demands. They call for transfer of seniority prioritizing longer stays, monthly package delivery with three month wait, transit supervisor alignment with goals, increased transit program access after trouble, fixed recreation hours for transit inmates, standard delivery practices, guaranteed medical attention for all B Block inmates, IG and commissioner monitoring of search procedures during reentry, media presence at officer releases in B Block, and no retaliation for events of 1-8 to 1-10.
Thomas Aloysius Coughlin III, New York correction commissioner, receives high praise from union leader John Burke for handling Ossining Facility hostage negotiations. Coughlin vows tense years ahead as inmate grievances and officer concerns shape a crowded system of 32 prisons with over 28,000 inmates. He previously built Jefferson ARC and rose from state trooper to top correction official under Gov. Cuomo.
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