Aurthurkill Correctional Facility

In 1969, New York state erected a large institution on Staten Island for the incarceration and treatment of heroin addicts. Called the Arthur Kill Rehabilitation Center, the institution was part of Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller's war on drugs. So confident of a quick and decisive victory in the billion-dollar war were the future vice presidents generals - the administrators of his new Narcotic Addiction Control Commission (NACC) - that the Staten Island treatment prison was built like a temporary field camp: Arthur Kill's prefabricated buildings had a life expectancy of just 10 years. Surely, officials thought, a decade would be ample time to rid New York of its drug problem.

More than three decades later, the drug problem is still with us, and so is Arthur Kill. The years have brought change. It is under new management, having passed to the jurisdiction of DOCS in 1976, and it is now a correctional facility. Treatment for addiction and alcoholism is still Arthur Kill's signature offering for its male inmate population. Today, however, it is supplemented by academic and vocational classes, aggression management and special programs addressing the needs of military veterans and developmentally disabled inmates.

In the last 10 years, about half the pre-fabs have been torn down. Inmates are housed in new dormitories built on the standard DOCS cookie-cutter design, and the facility also has a new special housing unit and a new medical unit. Administrative offices and program areas, however, are in the original 1960's structures, still serviceable 20 years after they were expected to crumble.

Along with the programming and physical changes, there has also been a subtle shift in the institution's personality. For most of its history, Arthur Kill operated in a low-key fashion. Perhaps believing that invisibility was essential to survival on the residential, conservative borough of Staten Island, it kept to itself behind its fences. But over the last decade, Arthur Kill has burst out of its self-imposed shell. Community service crews now venture out regularly to clean parks and cemeteries and perform other public works that serve to improve the quality of life for all borough residents. Other inmates serve the community from inside, repairing desks and chairs for local schools, for example, without charge for labor costs.

Staten Island residents benefit from Arthur Kill's new dynamism and verve, and so does the institution. Local political figures who were once vocal opponents of the correctional presence now publicly proclaim their support of the institution as a valued member of the community. Youth agencies send at-risk teens into the prison to see first-hand the consequences of violence and drug use.

Additionally, volunteers stream into Arthur Kill to lead AA and NA meetings, provide religious programming, teach special interest classes and otherwise supplement staff efforts to meet inmates' needs and humanize the prison environment.

Arthur Kill under NACC and its successor agencies

The institution was opened by NACC. The commission was set up in 1967 to direct the state's efforts - ongoing since the 1950's and redoubled under Governor Rockefeller - to curb heroin use and trafficking.

The agency has gone through a dizzying series of name changes. Almost immediately, NACC's mission broadened to embrace other illegal drugs (such as cocaine) not classified as narcotics. To reflect the enlarged scope, the agency was renamed the Drug Abuse Control Commission (DACC) in 1973. Two years later, an administrative reorganization abolished the commission (and its board of commissioners), replacing it with an Office of Drug Abuse Services (ODAS) headed by a director. In 1978, when the former Department of Mental Hygiene split into several smaller agencies, its alcoholism unit went to ODAS - which then became the Division of Substance Abuse Services (DSAS). Finally, in 1992, it became today's Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS).

Traditionally, drug criminals were usually able to plead to short, revolving-door jail sentences, which did nothing to cure the addict. As the war against drugs escalated, New York developed a new weapon: compulsory in-patient treatment in "rehabilitation centers" operated by NACC. Terms were for either three years (for an addict charged with a crime) or five (for an addict convicted of a crime) - time enough to effect a cure and punitive too, broadcasting the message of society's mounting outrage toward bold and violent street trafficking.

Aside from the treatment emphasis, Arthur Kill and other NACC rehabilitation centers were scarcely distinguishable from traditional correctional facilities. NACC's network of centers offered several security levels, with Woodbourne Rehabilitation Center the most secure facility in the system (Woodbourne was loaned to NACC/DACC by DOCS from 1967 to 1975). Custody was the responsibility of a security force of Narcotic Correction Officers. NACC had authority to release residents (as they were called) to "aftercare," where they were supervised by Narcotic Parole Officers.

The Staten Island center was erected quickly, without fanfare, on what had been a junkyard alongside the Arthur Kill ("kill" is the Dutch word for creek or stream) and two large natural gas tanks. Almost hidden by trees on the then-sparsely populated southern tip of the island, the pre-fab structures included a rectangular administration building and a separate gymnasium.

Stretching out far to one side of the gym and back of the administration building was a long, enclosed corridor - called "Broadway" - with the mess hall, boiler room and program buildings jutting out on either side. Six narrow, two-story dormitory buildings fanned out, like splayed fingers, at the rear of the compound.

Transition back to DOCS

By the mid-1970's, the state was losing faith in the institutional arm of the war on drugs. The Rockefeller drug laws were enacted in 1973, and many addicts formerly committed to DACC were instead receiving long prison sentences. DACC began to phase-out its own centers, increasingly contracting with private treatment providers.

Simultaneously, and largely as a result of the Rockefeller drug laws and the closing of the rehabilitation centers, the inmate count in the prisons was beginning a prolonged and dramatic climb. Needing bed space, DOCS took over a number of former drug agency facilities including Bayview, Edgecombe, Fulton, Lincoln, Queensboro and Parkside, as well as Arthur Kill.

Whereas the rehabilitation center had opened quietly - almost surreptitiously - DOCS more wisely tried to prepare the community for the arrival of the prison. DOCS met with local citizens and community leaders and established a Community Advisory Board (which still operates today). The Department assured neighbors that security would be more than adequate. Brush and trees were cleared away from the facility perimeter, and razor ribbon replaced the barbed wire. Detection systems were modernized with microwave sensors, TV cameras and six wall towers.

Sixty percent of Arthur Kill's ODAS staff- Narcotic Correction Officers as well as drug rehabilitation counselors and other civilians - were able to transfer to DOCS. As leaking roofs were repaired and other renovations were underway, staff from the Training Academy in Albany went down to Staten Island to train the transitioning personnel.

The first DOCS inmates arrived in May, 1976.

New construction provides a facelift

The original administration building, the gym, the Broadway corridor and attached buildings are still in use. Four of the six original inmate-housing buildings have been razed, with the remaining two unused and scheduled for demolition this year. They have been replaced with eight cookie-cutter dormitories: the first (H-Dorm) was added in 1990. Three more dormitories (E, F and G) went up in 1991. C and D opened in 1993, and A and B in 1997. The new construction and limited double-bunking have brought the capacity (650 beds at the 1976 takeover) to 995.

Also in 1990, a new medical building opened. The infirmary, dedicated to former Superintendent Raymond R. Bara, Jr. who died in office in January of that year, includes one of DOCS' two dialysis units. And along with the last of the new dorms, a new 32-bed SHU opened in 1997.

The facility's Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Chapel was reconstructed in 1997. The project - financed through contributions from several Staten Island parishes - was completed by inmates under the supervision of facility maintenance department staff and Correction Officers. On September 28, 1998, John Cardinal O'Connor Archbishop of New York, visited Arthur Kill to preside over a Mass of Consecration, broadcast throughout the facility on closed-circuit television.

Drug treatment remains a priority

Despite conversion to a state prison, drug counseling at Arthur Kill did not miss a beat. The continuing treatment focus was a natural development. The Rockefeller laws, together with the closing of the rehabilitation centers, were bringing more addicts into the prison system. They would still need treatment. Fledgling programs had been initiated in several of the Department's facilities, but a stronger program could be offered at a dedicated facility. Arthur Kill was the logical choice experienced staff were already there.

Of Arthur Kill's 975 inmates, 420 are assigned to one of two full-time treatment programs. Many others, having completed a program, regularly attend AA or NA meetings during their free time.

The "Stay'n Out" program has been at Arthur Kill almost since it opened as a correctional institution. In 1977, DOCS contracted with Therapeutic Communities, Inc. of New York City to provide on-site programming at two facilities, one for females (Fulton, which later moved to Bayview) and one for males. The male program at Arthur Kill opened in a 70-bed dormitory. It has since expanded to 180 beds.

Stay'n Out - developed, managed and staffed by former addicts and ex-offenders - is a "hierarchical therapeutic community." Participants are housed together in three dormitories. They attend seminars and group counseling sessions, and also meet regularly to address group living concerns such as housekeeping assignments. Tasks are meted out according to an inmate's advancement, based on progress in treatment and acceptance of responsibilty, in the community's "hierarchy" of roles and functions.

Inmates are expected to complete Stay'n Out in six months to a year. Discharge plans for continuing treatment in the community are prepared prior to the inmate's parole. Those not yet eligible for parole sometimes remain with the program for short periods of time as peer counselors.

Since 1992, Arthur Kill has also offered a Comprehensive Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment program (CASAT) program for eligible inmates (those who have been preapproved for temporary release) with 240 beds in four dormitories. CASAT consists of six months of intensive institution treatment, followed by continued treatment in the community while on temporary release status.

Diversified on-going programming

Arthur Kill offers the standard DOCS academic educational classes leading to a GED. It also offers a vocational general business course and the Aggression Replacement Training program.

All able-bodied inmates are given work assignments. In addition to food service and maintenance assignments, selected inmates are placed on community service crews where they perform tasks including graffiti cleanup, painting the South Beach boardwalk and clearing the shoreline of trash and timber.

In a program run by facility maintenance personnel, inmates repair and refurbish desks and chairs for local public schools. "Operation Restoration" was the joint initiative of Commissioner Goord and the Staten Island Borough president. Before the service was available, damaged furniture was scrapped, as repairs were more expensive than replacement. Now, a chair can be restored for between $5 and $25 (depending on whether a new seat or back is needed), while a new chair would cost $68. For $25-$55, inmates can restore a desk that would cost taxpayers $110 to replace.

Forty Arthur Kill inmates have the unique opportunity to be employed by the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Participants help to respond to backlogs of calls from motorists concerning routine matters such as DMV office locations or registration requirements. Inmates do not have access to personal information concerning the callers and all calls are monitored by on-site DMV staff who have the capability to intervene if necessary.

Inmates assigned to the Telephone Answering Program must have a high school diploma or GED and their records must be clear of convictions for telephone-related crime, credit card or computer fraud. In view of the extensive training required, inmates sign a contract promising to remain in the program for atleast a year. In exchange for their commitment, the inmates receive the higher wages paid by DOCS' Division of Industries (administrator of the program), as well as work experience not usually found in the correctional environment.

Special inmate programs available

The Con Thien Memorial Post Number 1945 at Arthur Kill is one of only two American Legion posts in the United States that is behind bars. Named after a Vietnamese village where one of the post's founders served, it was initiated by an Arthur Kill lieutenant, Robert Mahoney, who is now retired but still continues to serve as volunteer staff advisor. Con Thien was chartered by the American Legion in 1990. Four years later, Arthur Kill designated Dl Dorm as a 60-bed veterans' unit. Inmates attend therapeutic meetings addressing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other difficulties they tend to share such as drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and communication and interpersonal relationships. Discharge planning - for housing, employment, medical care and follow-up counseling after parole - is assisted by staff from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as well as by the state Division of Parole.

Arthur Kill is one of three DOCS facilities (along with Wende and Sullivan) with a Special Needs Unit (SNU). Like the Stay'n Out, CASAT, and veterans' programs, the SNU is residential, with its participants residing together in a 54-bed dorm. The program is intended to help inmates who are intellectually limited, learning disabled or vulnerable to victimization by other inmates. Programming, as for the general population, includes education, drug and alcohol counseling and aggression management. It also stresses coping and life skills, human interactions and communications with two objectives; first, of mainstreaming the participants into general population and, second, of equipping them for constructive living in the community upon release.

A host of smaller programs, some part- and some full-time, help bring variety to the institution routine and offer benefits to active participants and others alike. COPE (Committee on Prevention and Education for AIDS) regularly visits and offers counseling to HIV-positive infirmary patients. COPE inmates also educate general population inmates about AIDS.

COPE has had significant success in improving conditions for HIV-positive inmates, who say that previously they were liable to ostracism and occasional mistreatment driven by inmate misinformation and fear. For post-release support in the community, COPE liaisons with outside agencies such as the Staten Island AIDS Task Force, Project Hospitality (a legal clinic) and Staten Island HIV Care Network.

Unlike "Scared Straight" programs operated in other jurisdictions, Arthur Kill's inmate-run Community Awareness Program (CAP) steers young persons away from crime, violence and drug use through education rather than confrontation and fright. In 1998, over 1,000 at-risk youths, in groups of 10-20 referred by community agencies, visited the institution to meet with CAP inmates.

Arthur Kill's full programming in an environment of safe and humane custody is made possible by the hard work and dedication of 420 officers, supervisors, teachers, counselors, health care workers, secretaries, cooks and maintenance personnel.

History Index    Home Page